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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at|http: //books .google .com/I rdb, Google rdb, Google rdb, Google rdb, Google THE LIFE Jefferson Davis. Br FRANK H. ALFRIEND, lie Editor of The Southern Litemrj Messenger. CINCINNATI AND CHICAGO : CAXTON PUBLISHING HOUSE. PHILADEI.PHIA, RICHMOND, ATLANT.A. AXU ST. LOUIS: NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. BALDWYN, MISS. : P. M. SAVERY & COMPANY. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. : J. LAWS fc CO. d by Google CO. necording to Act of Congress, in the yeav 1SC7, by FRANK H. ALFRIEND, •s Offica of the District Court of tlie L'nilea HliUos. for tlia Diatrlet of Virginia. d by Google PREFACE. In offering this volume to the public, the occasion is embraced to avow, with unfeigned c^ndor, a painful sense of the inadequate maimer in wliich the desitn has Ven executed. Emboldened rather by his own earnest oonvic^ion' than by confidence in his capacity, the author has undertaken t« contribute to American Histoiy, an extended narration of the more prominent incidents in the life of Jeffbeson Davis. Whatever may be the decision of the reader upon the merits of the performance, the author has the satisfaction arising from ft conscientious endeavor to subserve the ends of truth. In pui-auit of the purpose to writs facts only, to tlie aid of familiar acquaintance with many of the fflpics discussed, and to informa- tion derived from the most accurate sources, has been brought laborious investigation of numerous interesting papers, which his avocation made accessible. It is therefore claimed that no statement is to bo found in this volume, which is not generally conceded to he true, or which is not a conclusion amply jnstified by indisputable evidence. Nor is it to be fairly alleged that the work esl b t ndu t na! bias. As a Southern man, who, in common with his nt ym n f the South, was taught to believe the principles underlying h m m nt f Southern independence, the only possible basis of Republ an m th a thor has regarded, as a wortliy incentive, the desire to d ate a be t he might, the motives and conduct of the South and its I t 1 ad Disclaiming the purpose of promoting section lb tern fa whole- sale indictment of the Northern people, he deen t n edl to d veil upon the obvious propriety of discrimination Holding in utter abhorrence t}iB authors of those outrages, winton barb.Lrities and petty persecutions, (iil) d by Google of which her people were the viotims, the South yet feels the respect of aa honorable enemy for those distinguished soldiers, Buell, Hancock McClollan and others, who served efficiently tlie cause in which they were employed, and atiil illustrated the practices of Christian warfare. To fitly characteriao the remotselesa faction in autayonism to the sentiments of these honorable men, it is only necessary to recall the malice which assails a "lost cause" with every foiin of detra^ition, and aspires to crown a tri- umph of arms with the degradatioa and despair of a conquered people. In his especial solicitude for a favorable appreciation of his efforts, by his Southern countrymen, the author has striven to avoid affront to those considerations of delicacy which yet affect many incidents of the hite war. He has not sought to revive, unnecessarily, questions upon which Southern sentiment was divided, and has raj'ely assailed the motives or capacity o£ individuals in recognized antagonism to the policy of President Davis. Perhaps a different course wotlld have imparted interest to his work, and have more clearly established tbe vindication of its subject. But besides being wholly repugnant to the lastes of the aulior, it would have been in marked conflict with the consistent aim of Mr. Davis' career, which was to heal, not to aggravafo, the differences of the South. A large part of the labor, which would otherwise have devolved upon this enterprise, if adequately performed, had already been supplied by the writings of Professor Bledsoe. To the profound erudition and philosophi- cal genius of that eminent WTiter, as conspicuously displayed in his work entitled, "Ts Davis a Traitoi.-?" the South may, with confidence, intrust its claims upon iJie esteem of posterity. The author heartily acknowledges the intellige.it aid, and generous en- couragement, which he has received from his publishers. Januabt, 1868. d by Google CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. (Page 13-li).) ATTRACTIONS OF TH ADVASTAOBS OP MERIT OHIOItl C DAVIS SITUATION SDC0BS8 I IB INJUSTICE DONE MR. DAVIS REMARK OP MACAti- .. GLADSTONE THE EFFECT THAT CONFEDERATE SUP- D UPON THE FAME OF MR, DAVI3 — POPULAR AFFECTION H — HIS VINDICATION A CHAPTER I. IPage 20-33.) itIRTH— EDUCATION — AT TVEST POINT — IN THE AKJIT — TEAINISO IN A5IEBICA IIK. DAVIS NOT EDUCATED Fl MI'llSSIPPI DEMOCRITIC COS'VCKTION A GLANCE FUTURE PARTY ASSOCIUIOVS HIS CONSISTENT ATTICI EIGHTS PRIVCIPrC*! — A SKETCH OF THE DBV ELOPMEM O STATE'* RldHTS— MR OlIHOUN MT THE AUTHOR OF TH VI^DIC4T10N FROM THE CHARfE OF DllUNIONItM MR DA OP ME CAIHOUV A** THE STATES riCflT-i LEADER CHAPTER II. (Page »J-4R ) 7 PllBMDENTIAI PirCTIO> I\ 1844— MP DAVIS ELCTTED T [TI? PIR1T SESSION PROMINENT MFMBERS OP THE HOISF- NTEP SCDION ETf — DAVIS P iPID IDVANCCMENT IN P E'CilTlONi OFFEIED B\ HiM — SPFEtHPS ON THf OBFCON I d by Google A COS Til AS qUlSOY AD. CHAPTER III. (Pa„e 49 0") f ^irOfTBHEi DUBSVIISTI — OKVEHAL T CHAPTER IV. CIET 1BRVI0ES FEiTURES OP HI'! PLBLIC C a INTKBH'IDITY^ I8bl— HI I« 0— ISiO ^ p 4 Rrn I i\ [B AT THIi PERIOD — H 3 rRCQUENT 1, A\D 1 t[trIE%LN t, (F THE SOUTH d by Google CHAPTER V ; COMPROMISE srppoRT^ CII iPTER VI (PilRB V-l 1 H6LWI0V Oi 1Sj4- ij ACCOMrLISHBD DBS[ AGOeUE DAVIS AKD DOUGLAS OONTRASTED — VR DIMS AT THIS PEEIOD TKUE QDB\» TO THr Ki\a4S 'HE THirTY-SlXta COXGRESS HIS B MISSISSIPPI DBUOCRATIO S' rdb, Google CHAPTER VII. (Page 192-232.) QUEST] IN THJ' SOUTH DID NOT ATTE rPT RBVOLUTrON— VlDlsON COLrCIO\ SO E EXHAUSTION O. CHAPTER A^III. (Page 333-265.1 TABLISHED AND IN" OPERATION — CALMNESS socra THE OEKAI. 1N8TEU1IEN"' rdb, Google CONTENTS. IX SYMBOT. OF SOUTHBRN OHABJICTBR AND HOPES — CHAPTER IX. (Page 26S-2S3.] FYEVTS CONSEQUENT UPON THE BOHBABDMHNI OP POET "il MTBB— MS BBdlNf THE WIR BY USUrPATiOH THE BORDER STYTES— l,nNTI PII ITY OF THh FBDBI 4L GOVEBNUBVT — ^VIRGINIA JOINS STiTES— iFTAirS IN MAEIiI-AND MISSOURI A-^D KBNTKK PHaSHS or THE smFATION APPBOTINft THE PROaPBCTS ( DtTISIOkS IN SOOtHBRN SBNTIMEKT IHE NOBTHBRN 1 BENT DAVIS AKlIOIPATIOfS EEALIZBD H11 RESPOK™ TO ME LINCOLN S PBOOLAMATTON OP WAR— PUnWC ENTHUSIA-iM IV THt, TOUTH— PRBSHIBNT DAVIS MBSiAGB— VIRGINIA THU FLANDERS OF THE WAr—IiBlTOVAL OP THE CONPEDBRATB CAPITAL TO RICHMOND-PC LICY OF THAT STEP C0N31BBRED- POPULAE REQAPD F3B MR D4Ma IN VIRG Ml.— YfVTlON Oh THE VIKOINXAN AUTHORITIBS-NOBTH rVEOLINV H^R NIBLF KNDICT AND EFPICIEST AID TO THE COIFEDBRACY- MILITAET PEEPAB\T10NS IN VIEGIHU— GENERAL I IN THE EARLY MONTHS OF THE WAR — MINOR BNOAGE 0N3 FOR THE GPEIT STEIGGLE IN lIEOINIi AK II! .L (JUBSTION CHAErB? AGAINST MR ^>A^ IS OnKSIOBRBD— .L PRBTISIJN DID HE ANTI IPATB AND PROVIDE FOE DWIS RESPONSIBII IT\ BBO^^ HIS BNEEOETIO PEBFAR iiri\G -lENTlMENT . d by Google QUVERNMCMT A r SVBSEQUBM CHAPTER X. PERIODS MR CONFEDERAO'V THE CI DEPEHSIVB POLI BENBEAL SCOIT BEFENflVE PL\SS OP THE ruNFEDBRlTES DlaTBIBUTIU^ OP THEIB FORCE'* — THE CONFEPEBATE CAMPAIGN OF 1^61 i 3, FORI ES PR0GJ.ES3 OP TH MANASSAS — PKE3IDBNT I BEFORE REFLGETIO'' S CHAPTEE XI. rdb, Google TBEIST B SEASON— THE CBKEH0N1B& — ISAUaUBtATIOS OP HK. DA' APPBARANOB OP PKESIDBNT DAVIS— HIS IHAUGUKAL ADDBBSS— ITS EPPECT— ) CONGRBSS— flOUMBNTS OF KIOHMOSD CHAPTER XII. (Page 361-389.) POPDI.AR DBLITSIONS IN THE JSAKLV STAGGS OF THE ^ AND SAOBIPIOKS NOT SUFFICIENT MORE POSITIVE B VIEWS— Hia OANDID AND PEOPHETIO AHH0UNCBMBNT3— HILITABY E CONSCRIPTION LAW OP THE CONFEDERACY THE PRESIDENT S COURSE AS TO IBIS LAW— HIS CONSISTENT EEOABD FOR CIVIL. L M CENTRALIZATION- RECOMMENDS CONSCBIPTION— RE TS BE LAW— OBNBRAL LEE OOMMANDBR-IN-OHIBF, " UNDER 1 K ID NATURE OP THE APPOINTMENT FALSE I REO — DATia' OONFIDBNOB IN LBB, DESPITE POPl OH NOBS IN 1KB CABINET MR. BBNJAMIN's WAK E^ IPTIOULTIES OP THAT POSITION— THE CHAB«E OP PAV0KIT7SM MR DAVIS IN THE SBLBOTION OP HIS CABINET — HIS PERSONAL RE- Li W H THB VARIOUS MBMBEBS OP HIS CABINET— ACTIVITY IN M1I.I- R ER NS— THB TRANS-mSSISSIPPI— BATTLE OP ELK HORN OPER.I- B THE MISSISSIPPI GENERALS SIDNEY JOHNSTON AND BBAURE- e R — AN NO. 10— CONOENTBATION OF TROOPS BY THB CONFEDERATE ITH R B — PAVORABLB SITUATION SHILOH— A DISAPPOINTMENT DEATH HNSTON TKIBUTB OP PRESIDENT DAVIS POPULAR VERDICT N B B TTLB OP 8HIL0H GENERALS BEAUREGARD, BRAGG, AND POLK „ gg E TUB PRESIDENT AOAIN CHARGED WITH "INJUSTICE" TO B EE D THB CHARGE ANSWERED PALL OP NEW ORLEANS NAVAL H IN Al PTON SOADS— NAVAL SUCOESSES OF THB ENEMY. CHAPTER XIII. (Page SMMai.1 rUB " ANACONDA SYSl PIQUEATION OF TH WAR PAVOKABLE Tl S SUCCESSFUL — TERRITORIAL C d by Google CHAPTER XIV. (Page m^m rOE THE SOUTH— THE M03T PHOSPBROUS PEEIOD 0 L BESTEAIUTS — AKBITKAET A DAVIS — OOLONEL OPINION — THE PURBLT PERSONAL d by Google DAVIS UrO?J THE SUBJECT THE SUBJECT — PRANCE At — TBEOiyBESATIONS OF THE KITISH NBUTEiLITir " — BNGtAMD 10 THE SUBJECT— INDICNATION OF THE PBEATiONS IN TEXAS AND MISSISSIPPI 3 POST— FEDERAL FLEET KK- E CAMP AI&N— UNITY AND rO THE COUSTRY IHPOR- ARB3 FOR BATTr.E~-HlS CONFIDEKCB iP OHANCBLLORSS'ILLE — JEFFERSON DAVIS' CHAPTER XV. P lO- 6) eOKPBDBKilB PEOSPBOTS AFTER H B OHANCELLOBSVILLE— THE Mil ITAST SITUATION— PRIMAB HB CONFEDERATES— AFFAIRS I THE WEST A BRIEF COSSIDBRA AL PLANS OP CAMPAIGN 8UI OESTBD TO THE CONFBDBKA B H IE — VISIONARY STiJaTEOT— AN 01 FBNSIVE OAMPAION ADOPTE — HB AS N CONDITION OF THC AEIIY OF NORTHBBN 1 P PENNSYLVANIA JUSTIFIED — REFIB' RESOL rdb, Google WAR MAONANIMITY AND HCMANITS" O THIS MATTER OF THE aOUTH AND HER DECLINES CHAPTER XVI Sa— THg 0 T TWE D OP FO D H W BD — PG CT BVUNHTAILY CONqUEBED CHAPTER XVII. (Page 502-532.) OHARACTBK OP OFFENSES I FEDERAL ADTHORlTIEa- EXCHAKGH EEPEATEC . d by Google CHAPTER XVIII. (Page 3?a-5f/l.) a FEBLINO AT THE BBiGINNlKfl OF ISBt— APATHY AND „E„.™E,0V 0, T.. ,»T,-».P.0™D .E.T...O » THE OONFED.^AOT- „■ PEO.L.K OP E»D».AK0E_PBEPAPATIOKS OF TH. OOKP.DB.ATE OOT- ,EN,E»T_»U.ITA.Y .POOE» THE OI.EAT EElIOEKATra-A ...» OP ..0- 0.ra-...»-.»'« V.DTO.Y IH .LO»mA-->....A.'. ■XPEDIT.O.-TCP- Best's victo.y — thb eaid of dahlqres taylob defeat K,B...T'S Tra.SEB« OAHPAIO.— I.c'e YIO.O.Y-T.B VAEO. OP TBBBB „,0. YlOTOmS-^iOHOTaTMIOH FO. THE OBEAT ST.PO.L.. IK YI.OINIA AH. C.0.OIA— PraHAI. PBEPAEAT10KS-0P.EBAI. O.A»T-.I. T.BOBY OP WAB— 1. FlAl...... FE...A1 POB0.3 ,» Y,B«m.A-S.E.«»»--PEE.L. RKOOECES OF THE CONPBDBKACY — TH. " OB TO EIOHMOND AND ON TO ATlANTA"-OB«EBAl OPANI EAPPLBD-H. NA.BOWIY HIOAPBS BOIN— HIS OY.ELANE ,IOT..m A TOTAI. FAIl.mH.B.IDAN TH.EAT.N. BIOHHOND -BBATH OF STPABT-BBTL... ABVAHOB BPOK ,I0H«O»O-THE CITY IN GEBAT PBEIL— BBAPBBOAED'a PLAN OP OPBEATIONS -YI.W3 OP »IK. OAYIS— DEFBAT OP B.TLEK, AND HIS CONFINEMENT IB a"0UL DB SAO — PAILBRE OP OBAN.-. OO..INATIO.M»STAN,LY .AFB..D BY EEB^B.EI.LE LOSS- OF THE FBDEEAI. ABIIY-OBABT OBOISBS THE JJUBS-HIS PAILOBBS BB- PBATED—HIS NEW COMBINATIONS— BABLY-S OPBBATIONS M THB YALLEI AND AOEOIB THE POTOMAC— THB PBD..AD COMBINATIONS AOAIN BBOEBN . ^ „.„^,H,i TME AIIRSION OP MESSES. CLAY, DOWN— PATOBABLB SmTATIOS IN YIKOINIA THB MISSION o THOMPSON, AJ.D BOLOOMBB-OOBEBSPONDENCE WITH ME. I.INOOLK-THF AB- BOCANT AND MOCKINO BBPIY OF TUB PBDBSAl. PBBSmBNT. rdb, Google CHAPTER XIX. (Fist 5.,d-6»9) P TAI,T1C3 ON BOTH \ — ^THE BilLANillON OP THAT ■TEP A qCESTION FOP MIL T VPl JULGMFM TUB NE:,ATIYB -VINDRATIO-i iP hENERAI JOHMSTO-S— DIPPBHENT THtOBIES Oi WAB-^Ht, ItBAL PHIL s 1 PAILURL THE ODDS IN NPMBPBS AND EESOlPir'5 Jt FAriLITlEa OP IHE ENElIi — STKiTEdir DUlI — IN'ilQNiriCAHI.B OF MlNOl QIiBS TI0N3— JEFFERSON DAVIS THE WASHIHOTOK OP THE SOUTH UENEGIL JJHV B HOOD— -HIS rioTINGliaHBD OIREEE— HOPE OB THE SCITH KBNGWED— HOOD 8 OPERATIONS LOSS OP ATLANTA UIPOBTAHT QUESTIUNS PHOIDB-iT D\¥la IN U COR 3ia— FEB VERSE CONDUCT OF to'* BRTJUB BROWN — MB DA^IS IN MACO-J — AT HOOD S HBAD-quARTBRa HOW HOOD S TENNESSEE OAMPAK •) VAfclED PROM MR D4VIS INTENTIONS SHERMAN S PROKPT AND BOLD frv r^ ACKNOWLtDtiMENT DBITPUCtlOK UP THb GOV CHAPTEK XX. (Page 590-613.) i DBMONSTKATIONS I B AGGREGATE 0 TEE PRESIBENT AND GENERAL LEE NOT PDLLT COMPREHEND THE DE- PEOPLE — HB HOPES FOR POPULAR KBANIMATION— WAS HOPELESS? — VACILLATINCI OONDOCT OP CON- BAK BODY MR DAVIs' EELATI0N3 d by Google CHAPTER XXI. (Page Oll-eafi.) IN THE FtRLi PIBT UF 1S65— L Vi i THE PLAN TO 01 — OSEEtttULhBSS 01 — SUPKE\DEK OP LEB — ^DIMYILLE EVACUATED — THE KIVAL AT CHiRrOTTfc — INCIDENTS IT s HoyBUbNrs CHAPTER XXII. rdb, Google rdb, Google rdb, Google rdb, Google LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS. INTEODUCTION. ATTEAOTIOBS 01? TH' ADTAKTAOGS OF MERIT — OKIGM C LAY — BBMAKK 01 TE WAE TO POSTBKirr — MK. LINOOL KE DAVls' SITUATION SUOOESS NOT S H N IB INJUSTICE DONE MB. DAVIS BEM BE 1. QLADSTONB THE EFFECT THAT E D UPON THE FAME OF MB. DAVIS POIUI.AE . ■H — HIS VINDICATION A TO future generations the period in American history, of most absorbing interest and profound inquiry, will be that embracing the incipienoy, progress, and termination of the roTolution ivhioh had its most pronounced phase m the memorable war of 1861. Historians rarely concur in their estimates of the limits of a reYolution, and usually we find quite as much divergence in their views of Uie scope of its operations, as in their speculations as to its origin and causes, and their statements of its incidents and results. If, however, it is difficult to assign, with minute accuracy, the exact Umite and proper scope of those grand trains of consecutive events, which swerve society from the beaten track of ages, divert nations from the old path of progress into what seems to be the direction of a new destiny, and often transform the aspect (13) rdb, Google 14 IHTiSODUCTIOX. of continents, it is comparatively an easy task to reach a re- liable statement of their more salient and eonspicuous inci- dents. It 19 in this aspect that the Titanic conflict, which had its beginning with the booming of the guns in Charleston harbor in April, 1861, and its crowning catastrophe at Appo- mattox Court-house in April, 1865, will be chiefly attractive to the future student. As a point of departure from the hitherto unbroken monotony of American history, the begin- ning of a new order of things, the extinction of important elements of previous national existence, embracing much that was consecrated in the popular affections; in short, as a com- plete political and social transformation, an abrupt, but thor- ough perversion of the government from its original purposes and previous policy, this period must take its place, with important suggestions of theory and illustration, among the most impressive lessons of history. The profound interest which shall center upon the period that we have under consideration, must necessarily subject to a rigid investigation the lives, characters, and conduct of those to whom were allotted conspicuous parts in the great drama. It is both a natural and reasonable test that the world applies in seeking to solve, through the qualifies and capacities of those who direct great measures of governmental policy, the merits of the movements themselves. The late President of the United States, Mr. Lincoln, avowed his inability to escape the judgment of history, and the bare statement sufficiently describes the inevitable necessity, not only of his own situa- tion, but of all who bore a prominent part on either side of the great controversy. Jbpfersoh Davis contkints posterity burdened with the disadvantage of having been the leader of an unsuccessful d by Google INTRODUCTION. 15 political movement. "Nothing succeeds like suceeas," was the pithy maxim of Talleyrand, to whose astute observation nothing was more obvious than the disposition of mankind to make snccess the touchstone of merit. It is, nevertheless, a vulgar and often an erroneous criterion. What could be more absurd than to determine by such a test the comparative valor, generalship, and military character of the two contestants in the late war? Concede its applicability, however, and we exalt the soldiership of the North above all precedent, and consign the unequaled valor of the Southern soldiery to re- proach, instead of the deathless fkme which shall survive them. To snch a judgment every battle-field of the war gives em- phatic and indignant contradiction. History abounds with evidence of the influence of accident and of extraneous cir- cumstances, in the decision of results, which, if controlled by the question of merit, as understood by the predominant sense of mankind, would have borne a vastly different character. But, in addition to the disparaging iniluence of the failure of the cause which he represented, Mr. Davis has encountered an unparalleled degree of personal hate, partisan rancor, of malignant and gratuitous misrepresentation, the result, to a great extent, of old partizan rivalries and jealousies, engen- dered in former periods of the history of the Union, and also of the spirit of domestic disaffection and ^itation which inevi- tably arises against every administration of public affairs, espe- cially at times of unusual danger and embarrassment.* The *A pertinent remark of Macaulay is, "It is the natura of parties to re- tain their original cnmitiea far more firmly than their original principles. During many years, a generation of Whigs, whom Sydney would have spurned as slaves, continued to wage wai with a generation of Tories whom Jeffrips would hive hangpd." d by Google 16 IKTRODUCTION. almost fanatical hatred of the Northern masses against Mr. Davis, as the wicked leader of a causeless rebellion against the Government of his country, as a consfiivator against the peace and happiness of his fellow-citizens, and as a relentless monster, who tortured and starved prisoners of war, springs from the persistent calumnies of such leaders of Northern opinion, as have an ignoble purpose of vindictive hatred to gratify by the invention of these atrocious charges. Yet this feeling of the North hardly exceeds in violence, the resentment with which it was sought to inflame the Southern people against him, at critical stages of the war, as an unworthy leader, whose inca- pacity, pragmatism, nepotism, and vanity wei'e mshing them into material and political perdition. Of popular disaffection to the Confederate cause, or dislike of Mr. Davis, there was an insignificantly small element, never dangerous in the sense of attempted revolt against the authorities, but often hurtful, because it constituted the basis of support to such prominent men as fancied their personal ambition, or amour jiropre, offended by the President. A misfortune of the South was that there were not a few such characters, and their influence upon cer- tain occasions was as baleful to the public interests as their animus was malignant against Mr. Davis. Hoping to advance 3 by misrepresentations of him, during the war they f charged upon him every disaster, and do not scru- ple to impute to his blame those final failures so largely trace- able to themselves. A patriotic regard for the public safety imposed silence upon Mr. Davis while the war continued, and a magnanimity which they have neither deserved nor appre- ciated, coupled with a proper sense of persona! dignity, have impelled him since to refrain from refutation of misstatements utterly scandalous and inexcusable. d by Google iNTr.oBuano^. Tlie distinguished English statesman,* who, during tlie prog- ress of the late war, declared that " Mr. Jefferson Davis had created a nation," stated more than the truth, though he hardly exaggerated the ilattering estimate which the intelligent pnHio of Europe places upon the unsurpassed ability and energy with which the hmited resources of the South, as compared with those of her enemies, were, for the most part, wielded hy the Confederate administration. Nor, indeed, would such an esti- mate have been too exti-avagant to be entertained by his own countrymen, had the South achieved her indepcndenee by any stroke of mere good fortune, sueh as repeatedly favored her adversaries at critical moments of the war, when, apparently, the most trifling incidents regulated the baknce. More than once the South stood upon the very threshold of the full frui- tion of her aspirations for independenee and nationality. Had Jackson not Sillen at Chancellorsville, the Federal Army of the Potomac, the bulwark of the Union m the Atkntie States, would have disappeared into history under circumstances far different S»m those which marked its dissolution two years later. At Gettysburg the Confederacy was truthfully said to have been "within a stone's-throw of peace." If at these tatefiil momenta the treacherous scales of fortune had not strangely turned, and in the very flush of triumph, who doubts that now and hereafter there would have come from South- ern hearts, an ascription of praise to Jefferson Davis, no leas earnest than to his illustrious colaborers? At all events, it is undeniable that, as the Confederate arms prospered, so the affection of the people for Mr. Davis was always more en- thusiastic and demonstrative. Only in moments of eitremc public depression could the malcontents obtain even a patient rdb, Google 18 XKTRODUCriON. audience of their assaults upon tlie chosen President of tlie Confederacy. The people of the late Confederate States, whose destinies Jefferson Davis directed during four years, the most moment- ous in their historj', are competent witnesseis as to the fidelity, ability, and devotion with which he discharged the trust con- fided to him. Their judgment is revealed in the affectionate confidence ■with which, during their struggle for liberty, they upheld him, and in the joyful acclaim, which echoed from the Potomac to the Rio Grande upon the announcement of his release from his vicarious captivity. As he was the chosen representative of the power, the will, and the aspirations of a chivalrous people, so they will prove themselves the jealous custodians of his feme. Be the verdict of posterity as it may, they will not shrink from their share of the odium, and will be common participants with him In the award of eulogy. There is more than an unreasoning presentiment, something more tangible than vague hope, in the calm and cheerful confidence with which both look forward to that ample vindication of truth which always follows candid and impartial inquiry. That time will triumphantly vindicate Mr. Davis is as cer- tain, as that it will dispel the twilight mazes which yet obscure the grand effort of patriotism which he directed. The rank luxuriance of prejudice, asperity, and falsehood must eventu- ally yield to the irresistible progress of reason and truth. Bribery, peijiiry, every appliance which the most subtle inge- nuity of eager and unscrupulous malice could invent, have been exhausted in the vain effort to make infamous, in the sight of mankind, a noble cause, by imputation of persouij odium upon its most distinguished representative. Day by d by Google INTRODUCT ION. day he rises beyond the reach of calumny, and his character expands into the fair proportions of the grandest ideals of excellence. An adamantine heroism of the aiiiiqae pattern ; purity exalted to an altitude beyond conception even of the vulgar mind; devotion which shrank from no sacrifice and quailed before no peril, were qualities giving tone to the genius, which, wielding the inadequate means of a feeble Confederacy, for y^rs, withstood the shock of powerful invasion, baffled and humiliated a nation, unlimited in resources, and in spite of dis- astrous failure, lends unexampled dignity to the cause in which it was employed, d by Google UFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. CHAPTER I. r THG AXTTHOR 0 TEFFERSON DAVIS was bora on the third day of June, " 1808, ill that portion of Christian County, Kentucky, which, by aubseqiieut act of the Legislature, was made Todd County. His father, Samuel Davis, a planter, during tlie Rev- olutionary war served as an officer in the mounted force of Georgia, an organization of local troops. Subsequently to the Revolution Samuel Davis removed to Kentucky, and continued to reside in that state until a few years after the birth of his son Jefpbrsou, when he removed with his family to the neighborhood of "Woodville, Wilkinson County, in the then territory of Mississippi. At the period of his Other's removal to Mississippi, Jefferson was a child of tender years. After having enjoyed the benefits of a partial academic b'aining at home, he was sent, at an earlier age than is usual, to Transyl- vania University, Kentucky, where he remained until he d by Google WEST POINT ASD THE AEMY, '^1 reached the age of sixteen. In 1824 he was appointeci, by President Monroe, a cadet at the West Point Military Academy. Among his contemporaries at the academy were Eobert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, Albert Sidney Johnston, Lconidas Polk, John B. Magruder, and others who have since earned distinction. Ordinary merit could not have commanded in such an association of talent and character the position which pavis held as a cadet. A fellow-cadet thus speaks of him : " Jefferson I>avis was distinguished in the corps for his manly bearing, his high-toned and lofty character. His figure was very soldier-like and rather robust; his step springy, resem- bling the tread of an Indian 'brave' on the war-path." He graduated in June, 1828, receivmg the customary appointment of Brevet Second Lieutenant, which is conferred npon the graduates of the academy. Assigned to the infantry, he served with such fidelity in that branch of the service, and with such special distinction as a staff officer on the North-western fron- tier in 1831-32, that he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant and Adjutant of a new regiment of dragoons in March, 1833. About this period the Indians, on various portions of the frontier, stimulated by dissatis&ction with the course of the Government concerning certain claims and guarantees, which had been accorded them in previous treaties, were excessively annoying, and the Government was forced to resort to energetic military measures to suppress them. Lieutenant Davis had ample opportunity for the exhibition of his high soldia-ly qualities, cool courf^e, and admirable self-po^ession, in the Black Hawk war, during which he was frequently employed in duties of an importtmt and dangerous character. During the captivity of Black Hawk, that famous Indian chieftain and d by Google 22 LIFE Of JEFPERSON davis. warrior is said to have conceived a very strong attachment for Lieutenant Davis, whose gallantry and pleasing amenities of bearing greatly impressed the captive enemy. After his trans- fer to the dragoons, Lieutenant Davis saw two years of very active service in the various expeditions against the Pawnees, Camanches, and other Indian tribes, and accompanied the first expedition which successfully penetrated the strongholds of the savages, and conquered a peace by reducing them to subjection. Though attached to the profession of arms, for which he has on repeated occasions, during bis subsequent life, evinced an almost passionate fondness and a most unusual aptitude, Lieu- tenant Davis resigned his commission in June, 1835, and re- turning to Mississippi devoted his attention to the cultiva- tion of cotton and to the assiduous pursuit of letters. Not long after his remgnation, he had married the daughter of Ool. Zaehary Taylor, under whose eye he was destined, in a few years, to win such immortal renown upon the fields of Mexico. Living upon his plantation in great seclusion, he devoted him- self with zeal and enthusiasm to tliose studies which were to qual- ify him for the eminent position in politics and statesmanship which he had resolved to assume. In that retirement were sown the seed, whose abundant fruifa were seen in those splen- did specimens of senatorial and popular eloquence, at once models of taste and exhibitions of intellectual power ; in the pure, terse, and elt^ant English of his matchless state papers, which will forever be the delight of scholars and the study of statesmen, and in that elevated and enlightened statesmanship, which scorning the low ambition of demagogues and striving always for the ends of patriotism and principle, illumines, for more than a score of years, the legislative history of the Union. The period of Mr. Davis' retirement is embraced within the d by Google EETIREJIEIv"T. interval of his -withdrawal from the army, in 1835, and the beginning of his active participation in the local poUties of Mississippi, in 1843, a term of eight years. The diUgeiit application with which he was employed during these years of seclusion constituted a most fortunate preparation for the distinguished career upon which he at once entered. There is not, in the whole range of American biography, an instance of more thorough preparation, of more ample intellectual dis- cipline, and elaborate education for political life. The trade of pohtics is an avocation familiar to Americans, and in the more ordinary maneuvers of party tactics, in that lower species of political strategy which, in our party vocabu- lary, is aptly termed "wire-pulling," our politicians may boast an eminence in their class not surpassed in the most corrupt ages of the most profligate political establishmente which have ever existed. Statesmanship, in that broad and elevated conception which suggests the noblest models among those who have adorned and illustrated the science of government, combining those higher attributes of administrative capacity which are realized equally in a pure, sound, and just polity, and in a free, prosperous, and contented community, is a subject utterly unexplored by American politicians at the outset of their career, and is comparatively an after-thought with tliose in- trusted with the most responsible duties of state. The political training of Mr. Davis was pursued upon a basis very different from the American model. It has been more akin to the English method, under which the faculties and the tastes are first cultivated, and the mind qualified by all the light which theory and previous example afford for tlie practical labore which are before it. The tastes and habits formed during those eight years of retirement have adhered to d by Google 24 :fs of jeffersox da vis. Mr. Davis in his subsequent life. When not engrossed by the absorbing cares of state, he has, with rare enthusiasm and satis&ction, resorted to those refining pleasures which are ae- 3 only to Jntelleets which have known the elevating in- 9 of culture. Emerging from his seclusion in 1843, when the mitiatory measures of party organization were in course of preparation for the gubernatorial canvass of that year and the Presidential campaign of the next, he immediately assumed a prominent position among the leaders of the Democratic party in Missis- sippi. At this time, probably, no state in the Union, of equal population, excelled Mississippi in tlie number and distinction of her brilliant politicians. Especially was this true of Vicks- burg, and of the general neighborhood in which Mr. Davis resided.* The genius of Seargent 8. Prentiss was then in its meridian splendor, and his reputation and popularity were eoexteusive with the Union. Besides Prentiss were Foote, Thompson, Claiborne, Gholson, Brown, and many others, all comparatively young men, who have since achieved professional or political distinction. The appearance of Mr, Davis was soon T-Gcognized as the addition of a star of no unworthy effulgence to this brilliant galaxy. The Democratic State Convention, held for the purpose of organization for the gubernatorial canvass, and for the appoint- ment of delegates to the National Convention, assembled at Jackson in the summer of 1843, From the meeting of this convention, which Mr. Davis attended as a delegate, may be dated the beginning of his political life. In the course of its *Mr. Davis has, since hia withdrawal from the army until the breaking out of the war, reaidcd on Hs plantation in Wiuren County, a few miles {rona, Vjoksburg. d by Google FIRST SPEECH. deliberations he delivered his first public address, wliicli im- mediately attracted toward him much attention, and a most partial consideration by his party associates. The occasion is interesting irom this eirenmstance, and as indicating that consistent political bias which, beginning in early manhood, constituted the controlling inspiration of a long career of em- inent public ser\'ice. The undoubted preference of the con- vention, as of an over^vhelming majority of the masses of the Southern Democracy, was for Mr. Van Euren, and its entire action in the selection of delegates, and formal expressions of feeling, was in accordance with this well-ascertained pref- erence. To a proposition instructing the delegates to the National Convention, to support the nomination of Mr. Van Buren so long as there was a reasonable hope of his selection by the party, Mr. Davis proposed an amendment iDStructing the delegates to support Mr. Calhoun as the second choice of the Democracy of Mississippi, in the event of such a contin- gency as should render clearly hopeless the choice of Mr. Van Buren. In response to an inquiry from an acquaintance if his amendment was meant in good faith, and did not contemplate detriment to the interests of Mr. Van Buren, Mr. Davis rose and addressed the convention in explanation of his purpose, and in terms of such earnest and appropriate eulogy of Mr. Calhoun and his principles as to elicit the most enthusiastic commendation. So favorable was the impression which Mr. Davis made upon his party, and so rapid his progress as a popular speaker, that in the Presidential campaign of 1844, the Democracy con- ferred upon him the distinction of a place upon its electoral ticket. In this canvass he acquired great reputation, and estab- lished himself immovably in the confidence and admiration of the people of & d by Google ^b Lirn OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. This seems an appropriate point from which to glaiice pros- pectively at the political principles and party associations of Mr. Davis in his after career. Until its virtual dissolution at Charleston, in 1860, he was an earnest and consistent member of the Democratic party. To those who are familiar with die party nomenclature of the country, no inconsistency mth this assertion will appear involved in the statement, that he has also been an ardent disciple of the doctrine of States' Rights, '.^'he Democratic party and the States' Eights party were in- deed identical, when a profession of political faith in this country was significant of something ennobling upon the score of principle, something higher than a mere aspiration for the spoils of office. When, in subsequent years, to the large major- ity of its leaders, the chief significance of a party triumph, con- sisted in its being the occasiiJn of a new division of the spoils, many of the most eminent statesmen of the South became in a measure indifferent to its success. Its prurient aspiration for the rewards of place provoked the sarcasm of Mr. Cal- houn, that it " was held together by the cohesive power of the public plunder," and the still more caustic satire of John Ran- dolph, of Roanoke, that it had " seven principles : five loaves and two fishes." Nevertheless, in its spirit thoroughly national, catholic in all its impulses, for many years shaping its policy in harmony ■with the protection of Southern institutions, and with few features of sectionalism in its organization, it worthily com- manded the preference of a large majority of the Southern people. To this organization Mr. Davis adhered unti! the inception of the late conflict, supporting its Presidential nom- inations, in the main favoring such public measures as were incorporated in the policy of the party, and he was, for sev- d by Google PARTY ASSOCIATIONS. cral years prior to the war, by no means the least prominent of those named in connection with its choice for the Presi- dency in 1860. It is no part of the task which has been undertaken in these pages to sketch the mntations of political parties, or to trace the historical order and signihcanoe of events, save in their immediate and indispensable connection with onr appropriate subject. So closely identified, however, has been the pubUc life of Mr. Davis with the question of States' Rights, so ardent has been his profession of that faith, and so able and zealous was he in its advocacy and praotiee, that his life virtually becomes an epitome of the most important meidents in the development of this gi-eat historical question. His earliest appearance upon the arena of politics was at a period when the various issues which were submitted to the arbitrament of arms in the late war began to assume a practical shape of most portentous aspect. The address which first challenged public attention, and that extensive interest which has rarely been withdrawn sinoj, was an emphatic indorsement of the political philosophy of Mr. Calhoun and a glowing panegyric upon the character and principles of that immortal statesman and ex- pounder. Unreservedly committing himself, then, he has stead- fastly held to the States' Eights creed, as the basis of his po- litical faith and the guide of his public conduct. If it be true that the decision of the sword only estabhshes fiicts, and does not determine questions of principle, then the principle of States' Eights will be commemorated as something more valuable, than as the mere pretext upon which a few agitators inaugurated an unjustifiable revolt for the overthrow of the Government of the Union. Nothing is more hkely than that many who recently rejoiced at its suppression by physical rdb, Google 28 LIFE OP JEPPEESOJJ DAVIS, force, may mourn its departure as of that one vital inspiration, which alone could have averted the decay of the public liber- ties. Practically a " dead letter " now in the partizan slang of the demagogues who rule the hour, since its prostration by mil- itary power in the service of the antipodal principle of consoli- dation, it will live forever as the motive and occasion of a struggle, unparalleled in its heroism and sacrifices ia behalf of constitutional liberty. There is little ground for wonder at the total ignorance and persistent misconception in the mind of Europe, at the com- mencement of the war, of the motives and purposes of the Confederates in seeking a dissolution of the Union, when we consider the limited information and perverted views of the Northern people and politicians respecting the nature of the Federal Gfovemment and the intentions of its authors. Nat- urally enough, perhaps, the North, seeing in the Union the source of its nmrvelons material prosperity, and with an astute appreciation of its ability, by its rapidly-growing numerical niajority, to pervert the Government to any purpose of sec- tional aggression ^reeable to its ambition or interests, refused to tolerate, as either rational or honest, any theory that con- templated disunion as possible in any contingency. In their willful ignorance and misapprehension most Northern orators and writers denounced the doctrines of States' Rights as netj> inventions — as innovations upon the faith of the fathers of the Republic — and professed to regard the most enlightened and patriotic statesmen of the South, the pupils and followers of illustrious Virginians and Carolinians of the Revolutionary era, as agitators, conspirators, and plotters of treason against the Union. Upon the score of antiquity. States' Eights pnn- ciples have a claim to respectability — not for a moment to be d by Google STATES ETGH'K 29 compared with the wretched devices of expediency or the hybrid products of political atheism, to which the brazen audacity and hypocrisy of the times apply the misnomer of " principles." They are, in fact, older than the Union, and antedate, not only the present Constitution, but even the fiimous Articles of Confederation, under which our forefathers fought through the first Kevolution. The Congress which adopted the Dec- laration of Independence emphatically negatived a proposition looking to consolidation, offered by Hew Hampshire on the 16th of June, 1776, that the Thu^een Colonies be declared a " free and independent State," and expressly afHrmed their separate sovereignty by declaring them to be "free and independent States." The declaration of the Articles of Con- federation was still more eiplicit— that "each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States in Congress assem- bled." The Convention of 1787 clearly designed the present Constitution to be the instrument of a closer association of the States tlian had been effected by the Articles of Confed- eration, bnt the proof is exceedingly meager of any general desire that it should atablish a consolidated nationality. At this early period the antagonism of the two schools of American politics was plainly discernible. The conflict of faith is easily indicated. The advocates of States' Eights regarded the Union as a compact letmm the Soto— something more than a mete league formed for purposes of mutual safety, but still a strictly mhirforj association of Sovereignties, in which certain general powers were specifically delegated to the Union; and all others not so delegated were reserved by rdb, Google 30 UFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. the States in their separate charactei's. The advocate of Con- solidation eonsidered the Union a National Government — In other words, a centralized power — to which the several States occupied the relation of separate provinces. The &mous resolutions of '98, adopted respectively by tlie Virginia and Kentucky Legislatures, were the formal declar- ations of principles upon which the States' Eights party was distinctly organized under Mr. Jefferson, whom it successfully supported for the Presidency against the elder Adams at the expiration of the term of the latter. With the progress of time the practical significance of these opposing principles be- came more and more apparent, and their respective followers strove, with constantly-increasing energy, to make their party creed paramount in the policy of the Government. A major- ity of the Northern people embraced the idea of a perpetual Union, whose authority was supreme over all the States, and regulated by the will of a numerical majority, which majority, it should be observed, they had already secured, and were yearly increasing in an enormous ratio. The South, in the course of years, with even more unanimity, clung to the idea of State Sovereignty, and the interpretation of the Govern- ment as one of limited powers, as its shield and bulwark against the Northern majority in the collision which it was foreseen the aggressive spirit of the latter would eventually occasion. A common and totally erroneous impression of the North- ern mind is that John C. Calhoun inverUed the idea of State Sovereignty for selfish and unpatriotic designs, and as the pretext of a morbid hatred to the Union. That eminent . statesman and sincere patriot uever asserted any claim to the paternity of the faith which he professed. It is true that. d by Google ME. CALHOUR. 31 in a certain sense, he was the founder of the States' Eights party as it existed in his day, and which survived him to malie a last unsuccessful struggle to save first the Union, and, filing in that, to rescue the imperiled liberties of the South. During the eventful life of Mr. Calhoun the question of the relative po%vers of the Federal and State Governments I a more practical bearing than before, and his far- ;acity was illustrated in bis efforts to avert the impending evils of consolidation. He was the authoritative exponent and revered leader of the votaries of those princi- ples which he advocated, but did not originate or invent, and sought to apply as the legitimate and safe solution of the circumstances by which he was surrounded. Equally absurd and unfounded w*ith the pretense, asserted at the North, of the novelty of the idea of State Sovereignty and its incompatibility with the spirit of the Constitution, was the charge so persistently iterated against Mr. Calhoun and his followers, of disuniouism; of a restless, morbid discontent, which sought continually revenge for imaginary wrongs in a dissolution of the Union. To the contrary we have the irre- fiitable arguments of Mr. Calhoun himself in fevor of the superior efBcacy of the Stat-es' Rights interpretation, as an agency for the preservation of the Union as it was designed to exist by its authors. So far from having an anarchical or disorganizing tendency, he, on all occasions, maintained that his theory was " the only solid foundation of our system and the Union itself." To this faith the public life of Jefferson Davis has been dedicated. For more than twenty years he sought to illustrate it in the realization of a splendid but barren vision of a time- honored and time-strengthened Union, consecrated in the com- d by Google 32 LIFE (IF jrFI- Elisor DAVIS. mpn affections and joint aspiiutions of a people, now, alas! united only in name. During the period of their public service together, Mr. Davis received a large share of the ajnMcncc and regard of Mr. Cal- houn, and when the death of the latter deprived the South of the counsels of an illustrious public servant, Mr. Davis, though comparatively a young man, stood foremost as heir to the mantle of the great apostle of States' Rights.* ♦Dr Craven relates the folloiVHia incident ■fthi h is an imjrL= ivo illustration of the depth and intensitj of Mi D^vib leneiation lor ttie ohapaUer of Mi Calhoun General Miles observed mterrogat i ely tliit it was icpoittl fliat John C Calhoun had made muc^h money by speculations cr favoiing the Bpeeulationi of hia friends connected with this work (the Eip-Eaps near Fortress Monroe) In a mDment Mr Davis t>tartel to hia feet, betraying muuh indigna- tion 1 V his es ited mannei and flushe 1 cheek It was a transfiguration of fiiendly emotirn Thi, ieelle and w^tt d ii valid and jrisonci eud denly torgetting his binds — forgettin^ his d)l ility aad ablaze vrdh elo qnent anger ■^■unst this injuafiGe to tie mpmory of one he bvcd md reverenuel Mr Calhoun he s\id lived a ■nl'ole atra pi eie aboie my Rord d or dishonest tl Dught^— ■was n gold when quitting Pichmonl — - money ptlfried fiom tho treasury of the Confederate States and thit there was just as much truth m that as lu these imjutations 'Wjamst CaihDttn Calhoun was a statesman a philo'ophei in the true sense of that gro^isly abused term— an enthu'5 lit of j;erfe t liberty in repreaentafivG and governmental action — Priscn Ltfe of Jffcrson liuon Library edition, pages 206, 207. d by Google PEE8IDENTIAL CANVASS, CHAPTER II. THE Presidential canvass of 1844 was one of the most memorable and exciting in the annals of American pol- itics. By its results the popular verdict was rendered upon vital questions involved in the administrative and legislative policy of the Government. The Democratic party was fully committed to the annexation of Texas, with the prospect of war with Mexico as an almost inevitable condition of the acquisition of that immense territory, desirable to the Union at large, but especially popular with the South, for obvious and sufficient reasons. But apart from the signal victory- achieved by the Democracy, in fiivor of this and other leading s of that party, the election of 1844 had an incidental ce, which the country generally recognized, in its final and irrevocable disappointment of the Presidential aspirations of Henry Clay, This canvass, too, has a peculiar historical interest in the demonstration which it gave of the real popular d by Google 34 LIFK OF JEFPEESOS DAVIS, streugth of the respective parties which had so long divided the country. Comparatively few temporary issues, of a char- acter to excite strong popular feeling respecting either party or its candidates, were made, and there was a square and obstinate battle of Democracy against "Whiggery, of what Governor Wise called the old-fashioned " Thomas-Jefferson- Simon-Snyder-red-waistcoat-Democracy," against Henry Clay and his "American System." The canvass was remarkable not only for its duration and the ardor with which it was conducted, but for its unsurpassed exhibitions of " stump oratory." The best men of both parties ■were summoned to the fierce conflict; and many were the youthful paladins, hitherto unknown to fame, who won their golden spurs upon this their first battle-field. Mr. Davis had borne a leading part in support of Polk and Dallas and Texas annexation in Mississippi. His services were not of a charac- ter to be forgotten by his party, nor did an intelligent and appreciative public fail to discover in the young man whose eloquence and manly bearing had so enlisted their admiration, such abilities and acquirements as qualified him to represent the honor of his State in any capacity which they might intrust to his keeping. Of Mississippi it might have been said, as of Virginia, that " the sun of her Democracy knew no setting." If possible, however, the State was more closely than ever confirmed in her Democratic moorings by the decisive results of the election in 1844. When Mr. Davis received the appropriate acknowledg- ment of popular appreciation in his election to the House of Representatives, in November, 1845, Mississippi sent an un- broken Democratic delegation to Washington, His associates were Messrs. Roberts and Jacob Thompson (afterward Secre- d by Google ELECTED TO COKGEESS., 35 taiy of the Interior under Mr. Buchanan) in the House, and Messrs. Foote and Speight in the Senate. On Monday, December 8, 1845, Mr. Davis was qnalified aa a member of the House of Representatives, and from that day dates his eventful and brilliant legislative career. The Twenty- ninth Congress was charged with some of the gravest duties of legiblation. The questions of the tariff, the Oregon excitement, during which war with England was so imminent, and the set- tlement of important detaik pertaining to the Texas question, were the alisorbing concerns which engaged its attention until the provioiona and appropriations necessary to the successful prosecution of the Mexican war imposed still more serious labors. The records of this Congress reveal many interesting facta eouferning individuals who have since figured promi- nently in the history of the country. The feet to which we have alluded of the unusual interest which had been exhib- ited in the recent Presidential contest, doubtless had a consid- erable influence in the choice of members of Congress in the various States, and largely contributed to its elevated standard of abihty. The debates in the House of Representatives of the Twenty- ninth Congress, are unsurpassed in ability and eloquence by those of any preceding or subsequent session of that body, and upon its rolls are to be found many names, now national in rep- utation, which were then but recently introduced to public at^ tention. Stephen A. Douglas, the most thoroughly representa- tive American politician of his time, uniting to a more than average proportion of the respectability of his class, his full share of its vicious characteristics, politic, adroit, and ambi- tious, was comparatively a new member, and, at this time, in the morning of his reputation, K. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, d by Google 36 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DATI3. a statesman of sound judgment and accurate information, who based his arguments upon the facts, and reduced the compli- cated problems of governmental economy to the conditions of a mathematical demonstration, had not yet been transferred to the Senate. James A. Seddon, the safe theorist, whose study, like Edmund Burke's, was "rerum cognoscere cansas," the acute dialectician, who, in his mental characteristics, no less than in his principles, was so closely allied to Mr. Calhoun, was, like Jefferson Davis, for the first time a member of Con- gress. Andrew Johnson was then a member of the House and at the outset of his remarkable career; and in addition to these were BrinkerhofF, Washington Hunt, Droragoole, George S. Houston, and a score of others, whose names recall interesting reminiscences of the day in which they figured. To a man of ordinary purpose, or doubtful of himself, the prospect of competition with such men, at the very outset of his public career, would not have been encouraging. But there are men, designed by nature, to rejoice at, rather than to shrink from those arduous and hazardous positions to which their re- sponsibilities summon them. An attribute of genius is the consciousness of strength, and that sublime confidence in the success of its own efforts, which doubly assures victory in the battle of life. It was with an assurance of triumph, &r differ- ent from the harlec[uin-like effrontery which is often witnessed in the political arena, that Jefferson Davis advanced to contest the awards of intellectual distinction. With the activity and vigor of the disciplined gladiator, with the gaudia certaminia beaming in every feature, with the calm confidence of the trained statesman, and yet with all the radiant elan of a youth- ful knight contending for his spurs at Templestowe, he pursued his brief but impressive career in the lower house of Congress. d by Google EESOLUTIONS AND SPEECHES. 37 As a member of the House of Eepresentatives Mr. Davis rapidly and steadily won upon the good opinion of his associ- ates, and the favorable estimate of him, entertained by his con- stituents and friends, was confirmed by his greatly advanced reputation at the period of his withdrawal from Congress in the ensuing summer. He became prominent, less by the fre- quency with which he claimed the attention of the House, than by the accuracy of his information, the substantial value of his suggestions and the easy dignity of his demeanor. His speeches, though not comparable with his senatorial efforts, were characterized by great perspicuity, argumentative force, and propriety of taste, and frequently rose to the dignity of true eloquence. They, in every instance, gave promise of that rhetorical finish, power of statement, unity of thought and logical coherence, which, in subsequent years, were so appropri- ately illustrated on other theaters of intellectual effort. ' Mr. Davis participated prominently in the debates upon the Oregon excitement, Native Americanism, and the various other con- temporary topics of interest, which were then before Con- gress, hut was especially prominent in the discussion of mili- tary affairs, the interests and requirements of the army, and the measures devised for the prosecution of the Mexican war. Upon the latter subjects his experience was of great practical value. On the 19th of December, 1845, he offered the following resolutions: " Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of converting a por- tion of the forts of the United States into schools for military instruction, on the basis of substituting then- present garrisons of enlisted men, by detachments furnished from each State of our Union, in the ratio of their several representation in the Congress of the United States." d by Google LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. " Resolved, That the Committee on the Posl^ofiice and Post- roads be required to inquire into the expediency of establish- ing a direct daily mail route from Montgomery, Alabama, to The occasion of these motions was the first upon whieh he occupied the floor of the House, On the 29th of December, Mr. Davis spoke in a very earnest and impressive manner npon Native Americanism, which he strongly opposed, and on subsequent occasions addressed the House in favor of the bill to receive arms, barracks, fortifica- tions, and other public property, the cession of which to the' Federal Government, by Texas, had been provided to take place upon its admission to the Union ; in favor of the prop- osition to raise additional regiments of riflemen ; in opposition to ai)propriations for improvement of rivers and harbors; upon the Oregon question, and in favor of a resolution of thanks to General Taylor and his army. The extracts from his speech on the Oregon question, and the speech in favor of thanks to General Taylor and his army, which is here ^ven in full, are taken from the reports of the Congressional Globe. The intelligent reader will appreciate their real value, as to accuracy, without any suggestion from us. On February 6, 1846, the House, having resolved itself into Committee of the "Wliole, and having under consideration the joint resolution of notice to the British Government con- cerning the abrogation of the Convention between the United States and Great Britain respecting the territory of Oregon, Mr. Davis spoke at some length, and in an attractive and instructive style, upon the subject before the House. A great portion of the speech consists of interesting historical details, evincing a most accurate acquaintance with the subject, and d by Google SPEECH UPOX THE OEEOON QUESTION, Oii giving a clear and Taluable analysis of fects. We have space for only brief eitracts, which are siiiBcient to reveal Mr. Davis' position upon this important question : . " Sir, why has the South been assailed in this discussion? Has it been with the hope of sowing dissensions between us and our Western friends? Thus far, I think, it has tailed. Why the frequent reference to the conduct of the South on the Texas question? Sir, those who have made re- flections on the South as having sustained Texas annexation from sectional views have been of those who opposed tliat great measure and are most eager for this. The suspicion is but natural in them. But, sir, let me tell them that this doetrme of the political balance between different portions of the nuion is no Sonthern doctrme.' We, sir, advocated the annexation of Texas from high national considerations. It was not a more Southern question ; it lay coterminous to the Western States, and extended as far north as the forty-sec- ond degree of latitude. Nor, sir, do we wish to divide the territory of Oregon; we would preserve it all for the exten- sion of our Union. We would not arrest the onward prog- ress of our pioneers; we would not, as has been done in this debate, ask why our cltiMns have left the repose of civil gov- ernment and gone to Oregon? We find m it hut that energy which has heretofore been eharacterislio of our people, and which has developed much that has illustrated our history. It is the onward progress of our people toward the Pacific which alone can arrest their westward march, and on the banks of which, to use the language of our lamented Linn, the pioneer will sit down to weep that there are no more for- ests to subdue It is, as the representative of a high- spirited and patriotic people, that I am called on to resist this rdb, Google 40 LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS. war clamor. My eonstituents need no such excitements io prepare their hearts for all that patriotism demands. When- ever the honor of the country demands redress; whenever its territory is invaded — if, then, it shall be sought to intimidate by the fieiy cross of St. George — if, then, we are threatened with fclie unfolding of English banners if we resent or resist — from the gulf shore to the banks of that great river, through- out the length and breadth — Mississippi will come. And whether tlie question be one of Northern or Southern, of Eastern or "Western aggression, we will not stop to count the cost, but act as becomes the descendants of those who, in the war of the Revolution, engaged in unequal strife to aid our brethren of the North in redressing their injuries We turn from present hostility to former friendship — from recent defection to the time when Massachusetts and Virginia, the stronger brothers of our fiimily, stood foremost and united to defend our common rights. Erom sire to sou has descended the love of our Union in our hearts, as in our history are mingled the names of Concord and Camden, of Yorktown and Saratoga, of Moultrie and Plattsburgh, of Chippewa and E e of Bo vyer a d Gu Idf rl and New Orle anl Bun ker Hill C o i e 1 together thej fo m i mon mcnt to t! e comn on gl rj oi our co i co t > and wl ere s tl e Sl them m ^lo o II 1 tl t no m nt vc le« by one of the >o tl e n n m tl tent tute the miss" Wl o stand go t! e ^ o nd made sac ed 1 j tl e blw 1 of y<, rren could illow sect onal feel ng to c rl h s entl asm as 1 e 1 oked pon that obehsl w h cl rises a monu nent to fre d n s anl 1 s CO ntry & t nmph and ta ds a tyje of tie t me tl e n n an 1 e ent tl t t m em r te b i It of i ter il that mo I o th ya e ot t me tl ut 1 e II d by Google SPEECH IN FATOR OP THANKS TO THE AEMY. 41 ing for parasite or creeping thing to rest on, and pointing like a finger to the sky, to raise man's thoughts to philan- thropic and noble deeds." It is well known that, upon this subject, there was consid- erable division among the Democracy. The effort to commit the party, as a unit, to a position which would have inevita- bly produced war with England signally failed. The conntTy had not then reached its present pitch of arrogant inflation, which emboldens it to seek opportunity for exhibition in the vainglorious role of braggadocio. Mr. Davis, upon this and other occasions, significantly rebuked the demagogical clamor " which would have precipitated the country into a calamitous war. His reply, on the 17th of April, 1846, to Stephen A. Douglas, who was among the leading instigators of the war- feeling in the House, is exceedingly forcible and spirited. The following speech in favor of the resolution of thanks to General Taylor, the officers and men of his army, for their recent successes on the Rio Grande, was delivered May 28, 1846: "As a friend to the army, he rejoiced at the evidence, now afforded, of a disposition in this House to deal justly, to feel generously toward those to whom the honor of our flag has been intrusted. Too often and too long had we listened to harsh and invidious reflections upon our gallant little army and the accomplished ofiicers who command it. A partial opportunity had been offered to exhibit their soldierly quali- ties in their true light, and he trusted these aspersions were hushed— hushed now forever. As an American, whose heart promptly responds to all which illustrates our national char- acter, and adds new glory to our national name, he rejoiced with exceeding joy at the recent triumph of our arms. Yet d by Google 4^ LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. it is no more tiian he expected from tlie gallant soldiers -who liold our post upon the Eio Grande— no more than, when oc- casion offers, they will achieve again. It was the triumph of American courage, professional skill, and that patriotic pride which blooms in the breast of our. educated soldier, and which droops not under the withering scofF of political revilers. " These men will feel, deeply feel, the expression of your gratitude. It will nerve their hearts in the hour of future conilieta, to know that their country honors and acknowledges their devotion. It will shed a solace on the dying moments of those who fall, to be assured their country mourns their loss. This is the meed for which the soldier bleeds and dies. This he will remember long after the paitry pittance of one month's extra pay has been forgotten. "Beyond this expression of the nation's thanks, he liked the priiimple of the proposition offered by the gentleman from South Carolina. "We have a pension system providing for the disabled soldier, but he seeks well and wisely to extend it to all who may be wounded, however slightly. It is a reward offered to those who seek for danger, who first and foremost plunge into the fight. It has been this incentive, extended so as to cover all feafs of gallantry, that has so often crowned the British arms with victory, arid caused their prowess to be rec- ognized in every quarter of the globe. It was the sure and high reward of gallantry, the confident reliance upon their nation's gratitude, which led Napoleon's armies over Europe, conquering and to conquer; and it was these influences which, in an earlier time, rendered the Roman arms invincible, and brought their eagle back victorious from every land on which it gazed. Sir, let not that parsimony {for he did not deem it economy) prevent us from adopting a system which in war d by Google SPEECH IN EAVOE OP THANES TO THE AEMY. 43 ■will add so much to the efficiency of troops. Instead of seek- ing to fill the ranlts of your army by increased pay, let the soldier feci that a liberal pension will relieve him from the fear of want in the event of disability, provide for his family in the event of death, and that he wins his way to gratitude and the Mward of his countrymen by periling all for honor in the field. "The achievement which we now propose to honor riehly dceervcB it. Seldom, sir, in the annals of military history has there been one in which desperate daring and miUtary skill were more happily combined. The enemy selected his own "ground, and united to the advantage o( a strong position a numerical majority of three to one. Driven from his first po- sition by an attack in which it is harf to say whether profes- sional skill or manly courage is to be more admired, he retired and posted his artillery on a narrow defile, to sweep the ground over which our troops were compelled to pass. There, posted in strength three times greater than our own, they waited the approach of our gallant Httle army. "General Taylor knew the danger and destitution of the band he left to hold his camp opposite Matamoras, and he paused for no regular approaches, but opened his field artil- lery, and dashed with sword and bayonet on the foe. A single charge left him master of their battery, and the number of sMn attests the skill and discipline of his army. Mr. D. referred to a gentleman who, a short time since, expressed extreme distrust in our army, and poured out the vials of his denunciation upon the graduates of the Military Academy. Ho hoped now the gentleman will withdraw these denuncia- tions; tliat now he will learn the value of military science; that he will see, in tile locaUon, the construction, the c " rdb, Google 44 LIFE OP JEFFEESOK DAVIS. of the bastioned iield-worka opposite Matamoras, the utility, the necessity of a military education. Let him compare the few men who held tliat with the arpy who assailed it; let him mark the comparative safety with which they stood within that temporary work ; let him consider why the guns along its ram- parts were preserved, whilst they silenced the batteries of -the enemy ; why that intrenchment stands unharmed by Mexican shot, whilst its guns have crumbled the stone walls in Mata- moras to the ground, and then say whether he believes a blacksmith or a tailor could have secured the same results. He trusted the gentleman would be convinced that arms, like every occupation, requires to be studied before it can be un- derstood; and from these things to wliich he had called his attention, he will learn the power and advantage of military science. He would make but one other allusion to the re- marks of the gentleman ho had noticed, who said nine-teuths of the graduates of the Military Academy abandoned the serv- ice of the United States. If he would talie the trouble to ex- amine the records upon this point, he doubted not he would be surprised at the extent of bis mistake. There he would learn that a majority of all the graduates are still in service; and if he would push his inquiry a little furtlier, be would find that a large majority of the commissioned officers who bled in the action of the the 8th and 9th were graduates of that academy. " He would not enter into a. discussion on the military at this time. His pride, his gratifi.ation arose from the success of our arms. Much was due to the courage which Americana. Lave displayed on many battle-fields in former times; but this courage, characteristic of our people, and pervading all sections and all classes, could never have availed so much had it not d by Google SPEECH IN FAVOR OF THAKKS TO THE ARMY. 45 been combined with military science. And the occasion seemed suited to enforce this lesson on the minds of tliose who have been accustomed, in season and out of season, to rail at the scientific attainments of our officers. "The influence of military skill— the advantage of discipline in the troops — the power derived from the science of war, in- creases with the increased size of the contending armies. With two thousand we had beaten six thousand ; with twenty thou- sand we would far more easily beat sixty thousand, because the general must be an educated soldier who wields large bodira of men, and the troops, to act cfBciently, mmt be disciplined and commanded by able officers. He but said what he had long thought and often said, when he expressed his confidence in the ability of our officers to meet those of any service— fevorably to compare, in all that constitutes the soldier, with any array in the world; and as the field widened for the ex- hibition, so would their merits shine more brightly stiiL "With many of the officers now serving on the Eio Grande he had enjoyed a personal acquaintance, and hesitated not to say that all which skill, and courage, and patriotism could perform, might be expected from them. He had forborne to speak of the general commanding on the Eio Grande on any former occasion ; but he would now say to those who had ex- pressed distrust, that the world held not a soldier better qual- ified for the service he was engaged in than General Taylor. Trained from his youth to arms, having spent the greater portion of his life on our frontier, his experience peculiarly fits him for the command he holds. Such as his conduct was in Fort Harrison, on the Upper Mississippi, in Florida, and on the Eio Grande, will it be wherever he meets the enemy of his country. d by Google 46 LIFE OF JEFFKHSON DAVIS. "Those soldiers, to whom so many have applied ( tory epithets, upon whom it has been so ofi^ii said no reliance could be placed, they too will be found, in every emergency renewing such feats as have recently graced our arms, bearing the American flag to honorable triumphs, or falling beueath its folds, as devotees to our common cause, to die a soldier's death. " He rejoiced that the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Black) had shown himself so ready to pay this tribute to our army. He hoped not a voice would be raised in opposition to it — that nothing but the stern regret which is prompted by re- membrance of those who bravely fought and nobly died will break the joy, the pride, the patriotic gratulation with which we hail this triumph of our brethren on the Hio Grande." A striking feature of these two speeches, as, indeed, of all Mr. Davis' Congressional speeches, is the strong and outspoken national feeling which pervades them. It is a part of the history of these times, that while JefFerson Davis eloquently avowed a noble and generous sympathy with his heroic com- patriots in Mexico, a prominent Northern politician bespoJie for the American army, "a welcome with bloody hands to hospitable graves." When, a few months afl^rwards, the names of JefFerson Davis and his Mississippi Rifles were baptized in blood amid those frowning redoubts at Monterey, and when, upon the ensanguined plain of Bncna Vista, he fell stricken in the very moment of victory, just as his genius and the valor of his comrades had broken that last, furious onset of the Mexican lancers. New England and her leaders stood indifferent spectators of the scene.* Yet the same New • Massaehiiaetts even refused military honors to the remains of a giJ- lant son of tor own soil, (Captain Lincoln,) and a descendant of one d by Google DEBATE WITH ANDREW JOHNSON. 47 England bounded eagerly to the conquest and spoliation of their countrymen, and the same leaders clamored mliantly for the humiliation, for the blood even, of Jefferson DaTis, oa o troM^ and a rebd. Qmsque trnidem. An interesting sequel of this speech was the debate, whioli it occasioned two days afterwards, between Mr. DaTO and Andrew Johnson, now President of the United States. Mr. Johnson, who boasts so proudly of his plebeian origin, and is yet said to be morbidly sensitive of the slightest allusion to it by others, excepted to Mr. Davis' reference to the "tailor and blacksmith," warmly eulogiffld those callings and mechanical avocations in general, and took occasion to expatiate exten- sively upon the virtue and intelligence of the masses. Mr. Davis, whose language is clearly not susceptible of any inter- pretation disparaging to "blacksmiths and tailors," disclaimed the imputation, saying that he had designed merely to illus- trate Us argument, that the profession of arms, to be under- stood, must be studied, and that a mechanic could no more fill the place of an educated soldier, than could the latter supply the qualifications of the former. Mr. Johnson, however, was resolved to seine the opportunity for a panegyric upon the populace, and no explanations could avail. The Gloie reports this debate as, "in all its stages, not being of an entirely pleasant nature." As an appropriato conclusion to this sketch of Mr. Davis' career in the House of Representatives, we quote the foUow- mg eitrarf from an interesting work,* pubUshed some years of her met .minenl ftmilie., who wa« Mllrf »1 Bnen« Ti.lo. H«i fanatical iotoleranoe would not forget that he had faUen in a war which she did not approve. * " Our Living Representative Men," by Mr. John Savage. rdb, Google 48 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. since : " John Quincy Adams had a habit of always observing new members. He would sit near them on the occasion of their Congressional debut, closely eyeing and attentively list- ening if the speech pleased him, but quiekiy departing if it did not. When Davis first arose in the House, the Ex- President took a scat close by. Davis proceeded, and Adams did not move. The one continued speaking and the other listening ; and those who knew Mr. Adams' habits were fully aware that the new member had deeply impressed him. At the close of tlie speech the 'Old Man Eloquent' crossed over to some friends and said, ' That young man, gentlemen, is no ordinary man. He will make his mark yet, mind me.* " d by Google MILlTAr.Y CHAEACTBE OF ME. DAVIS. CHAPTER III. "MISSISSIPPI nlPLBs" MONTBRBY— BUENi V11TA— GENCBAI OKiQlNALlTY or HIS STEATBOY AI BUENA VI' OP HON. CALEB OUSHIKO— BBTun^ OP DaViS UUPHAST REOEPTIOK AT HOWE PRESIDENT DiBR'a coMMiaaios, which hb declines on THE name of Davis is inseparable from those lettered glo- ries of the American Union, which were the brilliant trophies of the Mexican war. In those bright annais it was engraven with unfading lustre upon the conquering banners of the Republic, and his genius and valor were rewarded with a fame which rests securely upon the laurels of Monterey and Buena Vista. Jefferson Davis is a born soldier. Even if we could forget the glories of the assault upon Teneria and El Diablo, and banish the thrilling recollection of that movement at Buena Vista, the genius, novelty, and intrepidity of which electrified the world of military science, and extorted the enthusiastic admiration of the victor of Waterloo, we must yet recognize the impress of those rare gifts and graces which are the titles to authority. The erect yet easy carriage, the true martial dignity of bearing, which is altogether removed from the d by Google 60 I.IFE OF JKb'iflititiOS I>AVIS. supereilioua hauteur of the mere martinet, tlie almost fascinat- ing expression of suaviter in modo, wiiich yet does not for an instant conceal the fortUer in re, constitute in him that imperial semblance, to which the mind involuntarily concedes the right to supreme command. It is impossible, in the presence of Mr. Davis, to deny this recognition of his intuitive soldier- ship. Not only is obvious to the eye the commanding mien of the soldier, but the order, tlie discipline of the educated sol- dier, whose nature, stem and unflinching, was yet plastic to receive the impressions of an art with which it felt an intuitive alliance. This military precision is characteristic of Mr. Davis in every aspect in which he appears. There is the constant fixedness of gaze upon thcobject to be reached, and the cau- tions calculation of the chances of success with the means and forces ready at hand; a constant regard for bases of supply and a proper concern for lines of retreat, and, above all, the prompt and vigorous execution, if success be practicable and the attaok determined upon. Even in his oratory and states- manship are these characteristics evinced. In the former there is far more of rhetorical order, harmony, and symmetry, than of rhetorical ornament and display; and in the latter there is purpose, consistency, and method, with little regard for the shifts of expediency and the su^estions of hap-hazard te- merity. The attachment of Mr. Davis for the profession of arms is little less than a passion — an inspiration. True, he volunta- rily abandoned the army, at an age when military life is most attractive to men, but the field of politics was fai' more invit- ing to a commendable aspiration for fame, than the army at a season of profound peace. But a more potent consideration, of a domestic natare, urged his withdrawal from military lire. d by Google COI.ONEI. OJT ' 51 He was about to be married, and preferred not to remain in the army after having assumed the responsibilities of tliat relation. His speeches in the House of Representatives, in- dicating his earnest interest in military affairs, his solicitude in behalf of the army, his enthusiastic championship of the Military Academy, and his thorough information respecting all subjects pertaining to the military interests of the country, show his ambitious and absorbing study of his favorite science. In common with an overwhelming majority of the Southern people, he had favored the annexation of Texas, and cordially sustained Mr. Polk's Administration, in all the measures which were necessary to the triumphant success of its policy. While in the midst of his useful labors, as a member of Congress, in promoting the war policy of the Government, he received, with delight, the announcement of his selection to the command of the First Regiment of Mississippi Volunteers. He immedi- ately resigned his seat in Congress and started to take com- mand of his regiment, after obtaming for it, with great diffi- culty, the rifles which were afterwards used with such deadly effect upon the enemy. Overtaking his men, who were already m route for the scene of action, at New Orleans, by midsum- mer he had reinforced General Taylor on the Rio Grande. The incidents of the Mexican war are too fresh in the rec- ollection of tke country to justify here a detailed narrative of the operations of the gallant army of General Taylor in its progress toward the interior from the scenes of its splendid exploits at Palo Alto and Eesaca de la Palma. For several weeks after the arrival of Colonel Davis and his Mississippi- ans, active hostilities were suspended. When the preparations for the campaign were completed, the army advanced, and reached Walnut Springs, about three miles from Monterey, d by Google 52 LIFK OF JEFFEKSON I>AVIt on the 19th of September, 1846. Two days those series of actions whieSi finally resulted in the capitula- tion of a fortified city of great strength, and defended with obstinate vaior. Of the part borne in these brilliant opera- tions which so exalted the glory of the American name, and immortalized the heroism of Southern volunteers, by Colonel Davis and his " Mississippi Rifles," an able and graphic pen shall relate the story : " In the storming of Monterey, Colonel Davis and his rifle- men played a most gallant part. The storming of one of its strongest forts (Teneria) on the 21st of September was a des- perate and hard-fought fight. The Mexicans had dealt such death by their cross-fires that they ran up a new fliig in exul- tation, and in defiance of the assault which, at this time, was being made in front and rear. The Fourth Infantry, m the advance, had been terribly cut up, but the Mississippians and Tennesseeans steadily pressed forward, under a galling fire of copper grape. They approached to within a hundred yards of the fort, when they were lost in a volume of smoke. Mc- Clung,* inciting a company which formerly had been under his command, dashed on, followed by Captain "Willis. An- ticipating General Quitman, Colonel Davis, about the same time, gave the order to charge. "With wild desperation, his men followed him. The escalade was made with the fury of a tempest, the men flinging themselves upon the guns of the enemy. Sword in hand, McCIung has sprung over the ditch. After him dashes Davis, cheering on the Mississippians, and then Campbell, with his Tennesseeans and others, brothers in the fight, and rivals for its honors. Then was wild work. The assault was irresistible. The Jlexicans, terror-stricken, *Licutenaiit-Culoiiel A. It. lilcClung. d by Google MONTESEY. 53 fled like an Alpine village &om the avalanche, and, taking position in a strongly-fortified building, some seventy-five yards in the rear, opened a heavy fire of musketry. But, like their mighty river, nothing could stay the Mississippians. They are after the Mexicans. Davis and McClung are simul- taneously masters of the fortifications, having got in by differ- ent entrances. In the fervor of victory the brigade does not halt, but, led on by Colonel Davis, are preparing to charge on the second post, (El Diablo,) about three hundred yards in the rear, when they are restrained by Quitman. This desperate conflict lasted over two hours. The charge of the Mississippi Hifle Regiment, without bayonets, upon Fort Ten- eria, gained for the State a triumph which stands unparal- leled. "Placed in possession of El Diablo, on the dawn of the 23d Colonel Davis was exposed to a sharp fire from a half- moon redoubt, about one hundred and fifty yards distant, which was connected with heavy stone buildings and walls adjoining a block of the city. Returning the fire, he pro- ceeded, with eight men, to reconnoitre the ground in advance. Having reported, he was ordered, with three companies of his regiment and one of Tennesseeana, to advance on the works. "When they reached the half-moon work a tremendous fire was opened from the stone buildings in the rear. Taking a less-exposed position, Davis was reinforced, and, the balance of the Mississippians coming up, the engagement became gen- eral in the street, while, from the house-tops, a heavy fire was kept up by the Mexicans. 'The gallant Davis, leading the advance with detached parties, was rapidly entering the city, penetrating into buildings, and gradually driving the enemy d by Google 54 LIFE Of JEFFERSON DAVIS. from the position,' when General Henderson and the Texan Rangers dismounted, entered the dty, and, through musketry and grape, made their way to the advance. The conflict in- creased, and stiil Davis continued to lead his command through the streets to within a square of the Grand Plaza, when, the afternoon being far advanced, General Taylor withdrew the Americans to tlie captured forts." * Thus, in their first engagement, the Mississippians and their commander achieved a reputation which shall endure so long as men commemorate deeds of heroism and devotion. Veteran troops, tramed to despise death by the dangers of a score of battles, have been immortalized in song and story for exploits inferior to those of the "Mississippi Rifles" at Monterey. Colonel Davis became one of the idols of the array, and took a prominent place among the heroes of the war. The nation rang with the fame of "Davis and his Mississippi Eifles;" the journals of the day were largely occupied with graphic descriptions of their exploits; and the reports of superior offi- cers contributed their proud testimony to the history of the country, to the chivalrous daring and consummate skill of Colonel Davis. A becoming acknowledgment of his conduct was made by General Taylor in assigning him a place on the commission of officers appointed to arrange with the Mexicans the terms of capitulation. The result of the negotiations, *For this spirited account of the operation 8 of the Mississippi regiment at Monterey, the author ia indebted to a sketch of Mr. Daiis in Mr. John Savage's "Living Bepresentatiye Men," which was published a year or two prior to the war. Though having several other aoeounts, pMsibly more complete, I have selocted this as the most graphic. The author readily acknowledges the assistance which he haa derived from the work of Mr, Savage, d by Google BUENA VISTA. 55 though approved by General Taylor, was not approved by the Administration, which ordered a termination of the arm- istice agreed upon by the commissioners from the respective armies and a speedy resumption of hostilities. The terms of capitulation were assailed by many, who thought them too lenient to the Mexicans ; among others, by General Quitman, the .warm, personal, and political friend of Colonel Davis. A very important portion of the history of the war consists of the latter's defense of the terms of surrender and his memo- randa of the incidents occurring in the conferences with the Mexican officers. To sustain the proud prestige of Monterey— if possible to surpass it, became henceforth the aspiration of the Mississip- pians. But the name of Mississippi was to be made radiant with a new glory, beside which the lustre of Monterey paled, as did the dawn of Lodi by the fuil-orbed splendor of Auster- litz. All the world knows of the conduct of Jefferson Davis at Buena Vista. How he virtually won a battle, which, con- sidering the disparity of the contending forces, must forever be a marvel to the student of military science ; how like Des- saix, at Marengo, he thought there was " stiU time to win an- other battle," even when a portion of our line was broken and in inglorious retreat, and acting upon the impulse rescued victory from the jaws of defeat ; saving an army from destruc- tion, and flooding with a blaze of triumph a field shrouded with the gloom of disaster, are memories forever enshrined in the Temple of Fame. Americans can never weary of listen- ing to the-thrilling incidents of that ever-memorable day. By the South, the lesson of Buena Vista and kindred scenes of the valor of her children, can never be forgotton. In these days of her humiliation and despair, their proud memories d by Google OO I.It'E OF JEFFEIiSOK I>Av;f5. throng upon her, as do a thousand noble emotions upon the modern Greek, who stands upon the sacred ground of Mara- thon and Pl^etea, The foUowhig vivid and powerful de.scription of the more prominent incidents of the battle is from the pen of Hon. J. F. H. Claiborne, of Mississippi ; " The battle had been raging sometime with fluctuating for- tunes, and was setting against us, when General Taylor, with Colonel Davis and other's, arrived on the field. Several regi- ments (which were 'subsequently rallied and fought bravely) were in full retreat, O'Brien, after having his men and horses completely cut up, had been compelled to draw off his guns, and Bragg, with almost superhuman energy, was sustaining the brunt of the fight. Many officers of distinction had fallen. Colonel Davis rode forward to examine the position of the enemy, and concluding that the best way to arrest our fugitives ■would be to make a bold demonstration, he resolved at once to attack the enemy, there posted in force, immediately in front, supported by cavalry, and two divisions in reserve in his rear. It was a resolution bold almost to rashness, but the emergency was pressing. With a handful of Indiana volun- teers, who still stood by their brave old colonel (Bowles) and his own regiment, he advanced at double-quick time, firing as he advanced. His own brave fellows fell fast under the roll- ing musketry of the enemy, but their rapid and fatal volleys carried dismay and death into the adverse ranks. A deep ravine separated the combatants. Leaping into it, the Missis- sippians soon appeared on the. other side, and with a shout that ■was heard over the battle-field, they poured in a well-directed fire, and rushed upon the enemy. Their deadly aim and wild enthusiasm were irresistible. The Tilexicans fled in confusion d by Google A SriEITED DESCRIPTION. 57 to their reserves, and Davis seized the commanding position they had occupied. He nest fell upon a party of cavalry and compelled it to fly, with the loss of their leader and other officers. Immediately aftenvards a brigade of lancers, one thousand strong, were seen approaching at a gallop, in beauti- ful array, with sounding bugles and fluttering pennons. It was an appalling spectacle, but not a man flinched from his posi- tion. The time between our devoted band and eternity seemed brief indeed. But conscious that the eye of the army was upon them, that the honor of Mississippi was at stake, and knowing that, if they gave way, or were ridden down, our un- protected batteries in the rear, upon which the fortunes of the day depended, would be captured, each man resolved to die in his place sooner than retreat. 'Not the Spartan martyrs at Thermopylai — not the sacred battalion of Epaminondas — not the Tenth Legion of Julius Csesar— not the Old Guard of Xa- poleon — ever evinced more fortitude than these young volun- teers in a crisis when death seemed inevitable. They stood like statues, as frigid and motionless as the marble itself. Impressed with this extraordinary firmness, when they had anticipated panic and flight, the lancers advanced more delib- erately, as though they saw, for the flrst time, the dark shadow of the fate that was impending over them. Colonel Davis had thrown his men into the form of a reentering angle, (familiarly known as Ms famous V movement,) both flanks resting on ravines, the lancers coming down on the intervening ridge. This exposed them to a converging fire, and the moment they came within rifle range each man singled out his object, and . the whole head of the column fell. A more deadly fire never was delivered, and the brilliant array recoiled and retreated, paralyzed and dismayed. d by Google 58 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. "Shortly afterwards the Mexicans, having concentrated a large force on the right for their final attack, Colonel Davia was ordered in that direction. His regiment had been in action all day, exhausted by thirst and fatigue, much reduced by the carnage of the morning engagement, and many in the ranks suffering from wounds, yet the noble fellows moved at double-quick time. Bowles' little band of Indiana volun- teers still acted with them. After marching several hundred yards they perceived the Mexican infantry advancing, in three lines, upon Bragg's battery, which, though entirely unsup- ported, held its position with a resolution worthy of his fame. The pressure upon him stimulated the Mississippians. They increased their speed, and when the enemy were within one hundred yards of the battery and confident of its capture, they took him in flank and reverse, and poured in a raking and destructive fire. This broke his right line, and the rest soon gave way and fell back precipitately. Here Colonel Davis was severely wounded." The wound here alluded to was from a musket ball in the heel, and was exceedingly painful, though Cblonel Davis re- fused to leave the field until the action was over. For some time grave apprehensions were entertained lest it should prove dangerous by the setting in of erysipelas. General Taylor, who was deeply impressed with the large share of credit due to Colonel Davis, in his official report of the battle, says: "The Mississippi Riflemen, under Colonel Davis, were highly conspicuous for their gallantry and steadi- ness, and sustained throughout the engagement, the reputation of veteran troops. Brought into action against an immensely superior force, they maintained themselves for a long time, un- supported and with heavy loss, and held an important part of d by Google BAVIS' REPORT OF THE BATTLE. 59 the field until reiiiforeed. Colonel Davis, though severely- wounded, remained in the saddle until the close of the action. His distinguished coolness and gallantry, at the head of his regiment on this day, entitle him to the particular notice of the Government." The report of Colonel Davis, of the operations of his regi- ment, is highly important as a description of the most im- portant features of the action, and as an explanation of his celebrated strategic movement. We omit such portions as em- brace mere details not relevant to our purpose. "SiiTiLLO, Mexico, 2d March, 1847. " Sir : In compliance with your note of yesterday, I have the honor to present the following report of the service of the Mississippi Riflemen on the 23d ultimo : "Early in the morning of that day the regiment was drawn out from the head-quarters encampment, which stood in advance of and overlooked the town of SaltiUo. Conformably to in- structions, two companies were detached for the protection of that encampment, and to defend the adjacent entrance of the town. The remaining eight companies were put in march to return to the position of the preceding day, now known as the battle-field of Buena Vista. We had approached to within about two miles of that position, when the report of artillery firing, which reached us, gave assurance that a battle had com- menced. Excited by the sound, the regiment pressed rapidly forward, manifesting, upon this, as upon other occasions, their more than willingness to meet the enemy. At the first con- venient place the column was halted for the purpose of filling their canteens with water; and the march being resumed, was du-ected toward the position which had been indicated to me, d by Google bO JEFFEESON DAVIS. on tlie previous evening, as the post of our regiment. As we approached the scene of action, horsemen, recognized as of our troops, were seen running, dispersed and confusedly from the field; and our first view of the line of battle presented the mortifying spectacle of a regiment of infantry flying disor- ganized from before the enemy. These sights, SO well calcu- lated to destroy confidence and dispirit troops just coming into action, it is my pride and pleasui-e to believe, only nerved the resolution of the regiment I have the honor to command. " Our order of march was in column of companies, advancing by their centei-s. The point which had just been abandoned by the regiment alluded to, was now taken as our direction. I rode forward to examine the ground upon which we were going to operate, and in passing through the fugitives, appealed to them to return with us and renew the fight, pointing to our regiment as a mass of men behind which they might securely form. "AYith a few honorable exceptions, the appeal was as un- heeded, as were the offers which, I am informed, were made by our men to give their canteens of water to those who com- plained of thirst, on condition that they would go back. Gai- eral Woo! was upon the ground making great efforts to rally the men who had given way, I approadied him and asked if he would send another regiment to sustain me in an attack upon the enemy before us. He was alone, and, after promising the support, went in person to send it. Upon further examin- ation, I found that the slope we were ascending was intersected by a deep ravine, which, uniting obliquely with a still larger one on our right, formed between them a point of land difli- cult of aeeeas by us, but which, spreading in a plain toward the ba.?e of the mountain, had easy communication with (lie d by Google COLOSET. DAVIs' REPORT, 61 main body of the enemy. This position, important from its natural strength, derived a far greater value from the relation it bore to our order of battle and line of communication with the rear. The enemy, in number many times greater than our- selves, supported by strong reserves, flanked by 'cavalry and elated by, recent success, was advancing upon it. The moment seemed to me critical and the occasion to require whatever sac- rifice it might cost to cheek the enemy. "My regiment, having continued to advance, was near at hand. I met and formed it rapidly into order of battle; the line then advanced in double-quick time, until within the esti- mated range of our rifles, when it was halted, and ordered to ' fire advancing.' " The progress of the enemy was arrested. "We crossed the diSicuIt chasm before us, under a galling fire, and in good order renewed the attack upon the other side. The contest was severe — the destruction great upon both sides. We steadily advanced, and, as the distance diminished, the ratio of loss in- creased rapidly against the enemy ; he yielded, and was driven back on his reserves. A plain now lay behind us — ^the enemy's cavalry had passed around our right flank, which rested on the main ravine, and gone to our rear. The support I had ex- pected to join us was nowhere to be seen. I therefore ordered the regiment to retire, and went in person to find the cavalry, which, after passing round our right, had been concealed by the inequality of the ground. I found them at the first point where the bank was practicable for horsemen, in the act of de- scending into the ravine — no doubt for the purpose of charging upon our rear. The nearest of our men ran quickly to my call, attacked this body, and dispersed it with some loss. I think their commander was among the killed. d by Google 62 "LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. " The regiment was formed again in line of battle behind the first ravine we had crossed ; soon afkr which we were joined upon our left by Lieutenant Kilboum, with a piece of light artillery, and Colonel Lane's (the Third) regiment of Indi- ana volunteers. ... We had proceeded but a short distance when I saw a large body of cavalry debouche from his cover apon the left of the position from which we had retired, and advance rapidly upon us. The JMississippi regiment was filed to the right, and fronted in line across the plain; the Indiana regiment was formed on the bank of the ravine, in advance of our right flank, by which a reentering angle was presented to the enemy. Whilst this preparation was being made, Sergeant- MajorMiller, of our regiment, was sent to Captain Sherman for one or more pieces of artillery from his battery, "The enemy, who was now seen to be a body of richly- caparisoned lancers, came forward rapidly, and in beautiful order — the files and ranks so closed as to look like a mass of men and horses. Perfect silence and the greatest steadiness prevailed in both lines of our troops, as they stood at shoul- dered arms waiting an attack. Confident of success, and anx- ious to obtain the full advantage of a cross-fire at a short distance, I repeatedly called to the men not to shoot, " As the enemy approached, his speed regularly diminished, until, when, within eighty or a hundred yards, he had drawn Up to a walk, and seemed about to halt. A few files fired without orders, and both lines then mstantly poured in a vol- ley so destructive that the mass yielded to the blow and the survivors fled At this time, the enemy made his last attack upon the right, and I received the General's order to march to that portion of the field. The broken character of the intervening ground concealed the scene of action from d by Google COrX)NEJ^ DAVIS REPORT. bS our view ; but the heavy firing of musketry formed a sufficient guide for our course. After marching two or three hundred yards, wc saw the enemy's infentry advancing in three lines upon Captain Bragg's battery; ivliieh, though entirely unsup- ported, resolutely held its position, and met the attack with a fire worthy the former achievements of that battery, and of the reputation of its present meritorious commander. We pressed on, climbed the rocky slope of the plain on which this combat occurred, reached its brow so as to take the enemy in flank and reverse when he was about one hundred yards from the battery. Our first fire — raking each of his lines, and opened close upon his flank — was eminently destructive. His right gave way, and he fled in confusion. "In this, the last contest of the day, my regiment equaled — it was impossible to exceed — my expectations. Though worn down by many hours of fatigue and thirst, the ranks thinned by our heavy loss in the morning, they yet advanced upon the enemy with the alacrity and eagerness of men fresh to the combat. In every approbatory sense of these remarks I wish to be included a party of Colonel Bowles' Indiana regiment, ■which served with us during the greater part of the day, un- der the immediate command of an officer from that regiment, whose gallantry attracted my particular attention, but whose name, I regret, is unknown to me. "When hostile demonstra- tions had ceased, I retired to a tent upon the field for surgical aid, having been wounded by a musket ball when we first went into action Every part of the action hav- ing been fought under the eye of the commanding General, the importance and manner of any service it was our fortune to render, will be best estimated by him. But in view of my own responsibility, it may be permitted me to say, in relation d by Google 64 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. to our first attack upon the enemy, that I considered the ne- cessity absolute and immediate. No one could have failed to perceive the hazard. The enemy, in greatly disproportionate numbers, was rapidly advancing, "VVe saw no friendly troops coming to our support, and probably none except myself ex- pected reinforcement. Under such circumstances, the men cheerfully, ardently entered into the conflict ; and though we lost, in that single engagement, more than thirty killed and forty wounded, the regiment never faltered nor moved, except as it was ordered. Had the expected reinforcement arrived, we could have prevented the enemy's cavalry from passing to our rear, results more decisive might have been obtained, and a part of our loss have been avoided. ■ " I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant. "JEFFEKSON DAVIS, " Colonel Mississippi Jtijtes. "Majoe W. Tt'. S, Bliss, Assistant Adjutant- GeneraL" The reputation earned by Colonel Davis at Buena Vista could not fail to provoke the assaults of envy. An effort, equally unwarranted and unsuccessful, has since been made to deprive him of a portion of his merited fame of having con- ceived and executed a movement decisive of the battle. It has been pretended, in disparagement of the strategy of Colonel Davis, that his celebrated V movement {for so it is, and will always be known) had not the merit of originality, and be- sides was forced upon him by the circumstances in which he ■was placed, and especially by the conformation of the ground, which would not admit of a different disposition of his troops. Such a judgment is merely hypercritical. There is no account in military history, from the campaigns of Caesar to those of Napoleon, of such a tiictical conception, unless we include a d by Google INTERESTING STATEMENT. 65 Blightly-analogous case at Waterloo. The movement in the latter engagement, however, differs essentially from that exe- cuted by Davis at Buena Vista. A party of Hanoverian cav- alry, aasailed by French huzzara, at the intersection of two roads, by forming a salient, repulsed their assailants almost as effectually as did tlie reentrant angle of the Mississippians at Buena Vista. As to the second criticism, it is certainly a novel accusation against an officer, that he should, by a quick appreciation of his situation, avail himself of the only possible means by which he could not only extricate his own command from imminent peril of destruction, but also avert a blow de- livered at the safety of the entire army. In a lecture on "The Expatriated Irish in Europe and America," delivered in Boston, February 11, 1858, the Hon. Caleb Gushing thus allud&s to this subject : " In another of the dramatic incidents of that field, a man of Celtic race (Jef- ferson Davis) at the head of the Eifles of Mississippi, had ventured to do that of which there is, perhaps, but one other example in the military history of modern times. In the des- perate conflicts of the Crimea, at the battle of Inkermann, in one of those desperate charges, there was a British ofScer who ventured to receive the charge of the enemy without the pre- caution of having his men formed in a hollow square. They were drawn up in two lines, meeting at a point like an open fan, and received the charge of the Russians at the muzzle of their guns, and repelled It. Sir Colin Campbell, for this feat of arms, among others, was selected as the man to retrieve the fallen fortunes of England in India. He did, however, but imitate what Jefferson Davis had previously done in Mexico, who, in that trying hour, when, with one last desperate effort to break the line of the American army, the cavalry of Mex- d by Google 66 LIFE OP JEPFEKSON DAVIS. ico was concentrated in one charge against the American line ; then, I say, Jefiersoa Davis commanded his men to form in two lines, extended as I liave shown, and receive that charge of the Mexican horse, with a plunging fire from the right and left from the Mississippi Eifles, which repelled, and repelled for the last time, the charge of the hosts of Mexico." These puerile criticisms, however, were unavailing against the concurrent testimony of Taylor, Qnitman, and Lane, and the gratefnl plaudits of the army, to shake the popular judg- ment, which rarely fails, in the end, to discriminate between the false glare of cheaply- earned glory and the just renown of true heroism. The term of enlistment of his regiment having expired. Colonel Davis, in July, 184V, just twelve months after the resignation of his scat in flic House of Eepresentatives, re- turned to the United States. His progress toward his home was attended by a series of congratuLitory receptions, the people every-where assembling en. masse to do honor to the " Hero of Bcena Vista." Mississippi extended a triumphant greeting to her soldier-statesman, who, resigning the civic trust which she had confided to his keeping, had carried her flag in triumph amid the thunders of battle and the wastes of carnage, carving the name of Mississippi in an inscription of enduring renown. During his journey homeward, there occurred a most im- pre^ive illustration of that strict devotion to principle which, above all other considerations, is the real solution of every act of his life, public and private. While in New Orleans, Col- onel Davis was offered, by President Polk, a commission as Brigadier-General of Volunteers, an honor which he unhesitat- ingly declined, on the ground that no such commission could d by Google DECLINES PROMOTION. 67 "be conferred by Federal authority, eitker by appointment of the President or by act of Congress. As an advocate of States' Eights, he could not countenance, even for the gratification of his own ambition, a plain infraction of the rights of the States, to which respectively, the Constitution reserves the appoints ment of officers of the militia* The soldier's pride in de- served promotion for distinguished services, could not induce the statesman to forego his convictions of Constitutional right. The declination of this high distinction was entirely consistent with his opinions previously entertained and expressed. Be- fore he resigned his seat in the House of Representatives, the bill authorizing such appointments by the President was in- troduced, and rapidly pressed to its passage. Mr, Davis de- tected the Constitutional in&action which it involved, and opposed it. He designed to address the House, but was sud- denly called away from "Washing-ton, and before leaving had an understanding with the Chairman of the Committee from which the bill had come, that it would not be called up before the ensuing Monday. On his return, however, he found that the friends of the measure had forced its passage on the pre- vious Saturday. This is but one in a thousand evidences of an incorruptible loyalty to his convictions, which would dare face all opposi- tion and has braved all reproach. It is an attribute of true greatness in the character of Jefferson Davis, which not even his enemies have called in question, to which candor must ever accord the tribute of infinite admiration, * This Constitutional question was again raised by Mr. Davis, while President of the Confederacy, and his action with reference to Bimilar legislation hj the Confederate Congi-esa, was in entire accordance with the reason assigned for declining Mr. Folk's appointment. d by Google " JEFFERSON DAVIS. CHAPTER IV. MB. DAVIS IN THE WITED AND SrESEQUBNTLV Br STATE POrULAH MILITABT SERVICES- Y BXECCTI' THE LBSISLATUKE DAVIS OPPOSES THE COMPROMISE FOLLY THAT SETTLEMENT DAVIS ^ 1861 HIS CONCEPTION OF THE OHABACTBU r.L — -DAVIS OttOWlNO F '\i7"ITHIN less than two months from his return to Mis- ' ' sissippi, Colonel Davis was appointed by the Governor of the State to fill the vacancy in the United States Senate occasioned by the death of General Speight. At a subsequent sfe^aion of the Legislature, the selection of the Governor was confirmed by his unanimous election for the residue of the unexpired term. Seldom has there been a tender of public honor more deserved by the recipient, and more cheerfully accorded by the constituent body. It was the grateful trib- ute of popular appreciation to the hero who had risked his life for the glory of his countiy, and the worthy recognition d by Google POPULAR FAVOR. 69 of abilities which had been proven acleqiiate to the responsi- bilities of the highest civic trust. Doubtless Colonel Davis owed much of the signal unanimity and enthusiasm which accompanied this expression of popular favor to his brilliant services in Mexico. The military passion is strong in the hu- man breast, and the sentiment of homage to prowess, illustrated on the battle-field and in the fece of danger, is one of the few chivalrous instincts which survive the influence of the sordid vices and vulgarisms of human nature. In all ages men have declaimed and reasoned against the expediency of confiding civil authority to the keeping of soldiers, and have cautioned the masses against the risk of entrusting the public liberties to the stern and dictatorial will educated in the nigged dis- cipline and habits of the camp. Yet the masses, in all time, will continue their awards of distinction to martial exploits with a fervor not characteristic of their recognition of any other public service. But the tribute had a higher motive, if possible, than the generous impulse of gratitude to the " Hero of Buena Vista," in the universal conviction of his eminent fitness for the posi- tion. His service in the House of Representatives, brief as it was, had designated him, months before his Mexican laurels had been earned, as a man, not only of mark, but of promise; of decided and progressive intellectual power ; of pronounced mental and moral individuality. Of all the pubUe men of America, Jeficrson Davis is the least indebted for his long and noble career of distinction to adventitious influences or merely temporary popular impulses. The sources of his strength have been the elements of his character and the resources of his genius. Never hoping to stumble upon success, by a stolid indifference amid the fluc- d by Google LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS, 70 tuations of fortune, nor engaged in the role of the trimmer, who adjusts liis conduct conformably with every tnrn of the popular current, his hopes of success have rested upOn the merits of principle alone. He has succeeded in all things vihere success was possible, and felled, at last, in contradiction of every lesson of previous experience, with the light of all history pleading his vindication, and to the disappointment of the nearly unanimous judgment of disinterested mankind. A peculiar feature in the public career of Mi\ Davis was its steady and consecutive development. He has accepted service, always and only, in obedience to the concurrent con- fidence of his fellow-citizens in his peculiar qualifications for the emergency. From the beginning he gave the promise of those high capacities which the fervid eulogy of Grattan accorded to Chatham— to " strike a blow in the world that should resound through its history." His first election to Congress was the spontaneous acknowledgment of the pro- found impression produced by his earliest intellectual efforts. The consummate triumph of his genius and valor at Buena Vista did not exceed the anticipations of his friends, who knew the ardor and assiduity of his devotion to his cherished science, and now in the noble arena of the American Senate his star was still to be in the ascendant. At the first session of the Thirtieth Congress, Jefferson Davis took his seat as a Senator of the United States from the State of Mississippi. The entire period of his connection with the Senate, from 1847 to 1851, and from 1857 to 1861, scarcely comprises eight years; but those were years pregnant with the fate of a nation, and in their brief progress he stood in that august body the equal of giant intellects, and grap- pled, with the power and skill of a master, tlie great ideas d by Google UNITED STATES SENATOR. 71 and events of tliose momentous days. Mr. Davis could safely trust, whatever of ambition he may cherish for the distin- guished consideration of posterity, to a faithful record of his service in the Senate. His senatorial fame is a beautiful har- mony of the most pronounced and attractive features of the best parliamentary models. He was as intrepid and defiant as Chatham, bat as scholarly as Brougham; as elegant and perspicuous in diction as Canning, and often as profound and philosophical in his comprehension of general principles as Burke ; when roused by a sense of injury, or by the force of his earnest conviction, as much the incarnation of fervor and zeal as Grattan, but, like Fox, subtle, ready, and always armed cap a pie for the quick encounters of debate. Among all the eminent associates of Mr. Davis in that body, there were very few who possessed his peculiar qualifications for its moat distinguished honors. His character, no less than his demeanor, may be aptly termed senatorial, and his bearing was always attuned to his noble conceptiou of the Senate as an august assemblage of the embassadors of sovereign States. He carried to the Senate the loftiest sense of the dignity and responsibility of his trust, and convictions upon political ques- tions, which were the result of the most thorough and elaborate investigation. Never for one instant varying from the princi- ples of his creed, he never doubted as to the course of duty ; profound, accurate in information, there was no question per- taining to the science of government or its administration that he did not illuminate with a light, clear, powerful, and orig- inal. It has been remarked of Mr. Davis' style as a speaker, that it is " orderly rather than ornate," and the remark is correct HO far as it relates to the mere statement of the conditions d by Google 72 1AFE OF JEFi'liKHON DAVIS. of the discussion. For mere rhetorical glitter, Mr. Davis' speeches afford but poor models, but for clear logic and con- vincing argument, apt illustration, bold and original imagery, and genuine pathos, they are unsurpassed by any ever deliv- ered in the American Senate. Though the Senate was, un- doubtedly, his appropriate arena as a^ orator, and though it may well be doubted whether he ms rivaled in senatorial eloquence by any contemporary, Mr. Davis is hardly less gifted m the attributes of popular eloquence. Upon great occasions he will move a large crowd with an irresistible power. As a popular orator, he does not seek to sway and toss the will with violent and passionate emotion, but his eloquence is more a triumph of argument aided by an enlistment of passion and persuasion to reason and conviction. He has less of the char- acteristics of Mirabeau, than of that higher type of eloquence, of which Cicero, Burke, and George Canning were representa- tives, and which is pervaded by passion, subordinated to the severer tribunal of mtellect. It was the privilege of the wnter, on repeated occasions, during the late war, to witness the triumph of Mr. Davis' eloquence over a popular assem- blage. Usually the theme and the occasion were worthy of the orator, and difficult indeed would it be to realize a nobler vision of the majesty of intellect. To a current of thought, perennial and inexhaustible, compact, logical and irresistible, was added a fire that threw its warmth into the coldest bosom, and infused a glow of light into the very core of the subject. His voice, flexible and articulate, reaching any compass that was requisite, attitude and gestures, all conspired to give power and expression to his language, and the hearer was impressed as though in the presence of the very transfiguration of elo- quence. The printed efforts of Mr. Davis will not only live d by Google AS A PAELIAMENTAHY LEADER. 73 )rial9 of parliamentary and popular eloquencej but as invaluable stores of information to the political and historical student. They epitomize some of the most important peri- ods of American history, and embrace the amplest discussion of an extended range of subjects pertaining to almost every The development in Mr. Davis of the high and rare quali- ties, requisite to parliamentary leadership, was rapid and deci- sive. His nature instinctively aspires to influence and power, and under no circumstances could it rest contented in an atti- tude of inferiority. Independence, originality, and intrepidity, added to earnest and intelligent conviction ; unwavering devo- tion to principle and purpose ; a will stem and inexorable, and a disposition frank, courteous, and generous, are features of character which rarely fail to make a representative man. After the death of Mr. Calhoun, he was incomparably the ablest exponent of States' Rights principles, and even during the life of that great publicist, Mr. Davis, almost equally with him, shared the labors and responsibilities of leadership. His personal courage is of that knightly order, which in an age of chivalry would have sought the trophies of the tourney, and his moral heroism fixed him immovably upon the solid rock of principle, indifferent to the inconvenience of being in a minority and in no dread of the storms of popular pa&eion. His faith in his principles was no less earnest than his confi- dence in his ability to triumphantly defend them. In the midst of the agitation and excitement of 1850, Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser, whose brilliant but erring genius so long and fetally led estray, from the correct understanding of the vital issue at stake between the North and the South, a numerous party of noble and true-hearted Southern gentle- d by Google ■ JEFFERSON DAVJS. men, furnished the occasion of an impressive illustration of tliis quality. Turning, in debate, to the Mississippi Sena- tor, he notified the latter of his purpose, at some future day to debate with him elaborately, an important question of prin- ciple. " Now is the moment," was the reply of the intrepid Davis, ever eager to champion his beloved and imperiled South, equally against her avowed enemies, and the not less fatal policy of those who were but too willing to compromise upon an issue vital to her rights and dignity. And what a shock of arms might then have been witnessed, could Clay have dispelled thirty years of his ripe three-score and ten ! Each would have found a foeman worthy of his steel. In an- swer to this bold defiance. Clay, like Hotspur, would have rushed to the charge, with visor up and lance eottchant; and Davis, another Saladin, no less frank than his adversary, but fer more dexterous, would have met him with a flash of that Damascus scymetar, whose first blow severed the neek of the foeman. That would have been a bold ambition that could demand a formal tender of leadership from the brilliant array of gal- lant gentlemen, ripe scholars, distinguished orators and states- men, who, for twenty years before the war, were the valiant champions in Congress of the principles and aspirations of the South. Yet few will deny the preeminence of Mr. Davis, in the eye of the country and the world, among States' Rights leaders. Equally with Mr. Calhoun, as the leader of a groat intellectual movement, he stamped his impress upon the en- during tablets of time. Like Mr. Calhoun, too, Mr. Davis gave little evidence of capacity or taste for mere party tactics. Neither would have pei-formed the duties of drill-sergeaut, in local organizations. d by Google VIEWS UPOS PUBLIC AFFAIES. 75 for the purposes of a political canvass, so well as hundreds of men of far ligliter calibre and less stability. Happily, both sought and found a more congenial field of action. The unexpired term, for which Mr. Davis had been elected in 1847, ended in 1851, and, though he was immediately re- elected, in consequence of his subsequent resignation his first service in the Senate ended with the term for which he had first been elected. A recurrence to the records of Congress will exhibit the eventful nature of this period, especially in its con- clusion. In the earlier portion of his senatorial service, Mr. Davis participated conspicuously in debate and in the g business of legislation. Here, as in the House of T lives, his views upon military affairs were always received with marked respect, and no measure looking to the improvement of the army failed to receive his cordial cooperation. The extensive conquests of the array in Mexico, and the necessity of maintaining the authority of the Federal Govern- ment in the conquered country until the objects of the war could be consummated, created considerable embarrassment. Upon this subject Mr, Davis spoke frequently and intelli- gently. His sagacity indicated a policy equally protective of the advantages which the valor of the army had achieved, and humane to the conquered. In a debate with Mr. John Bell, in February, 1848, he defined himself as favoring such a military occupation as would "prevent the General Gov- ernment of Mexico, against whieh this war had been directed, from reestablishing its power and again concentrating the scat- tered fragments of its army to renew active hostilities against us." He disclaimed the motive, in this policy, of territorial acquisition, and earnestly deprecated interference with the po- litical institutions of the Mexicans. The estimate entertained d by Google 76 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. by the Senate, of his judgment and information upon military Bubjeets, was indicated by his ahnost unanimoiig election, (tliirty- two for Mr. Davia, and five for all others,} during the session of the Thirty-first Congress, as Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs. His speeches on the subject of offering con- gratulations to the French people upon their recent successful political revolution, resulting in the establishment of a repub- lican form of government, tlie proposed organization of the territorial government of Oregon, upon various subjects of practical and scientific interest, and his incidental discussions of the subject of slavery, were able, elociuent, and character- istic. The session of Congress in 1849 and 1850 brought with it a most angry and menacing renewal of sectional agitation. Previous events and innumerable indications of popular sen- timent had clearly revealed to candid minds, every-where, that the increasing aectioaal preponderance of the North, and its growing hostihty to slavery, portended results utterly ruinous to the rights and institutions of the South. To the South it was literally a question of vitality, to secure some competent check upon the aggressive strength of the North. To maintain any thing like a sectional balance, the South must necessarily se- cure to her institutions, at least, a fair share of the common domain to be hereafter created into States. The immense terri- torial acquisitions resulting from the Mexican war were now the subjects of controversy. After a contest, protracted through several months, and eliciting the moat violent exliibitions of sectional feeling, a plan of adjustment, under the auspices chiefly of Henry Clay, whose fatal gift was to preserve, for a time, the peace of the country by the concession of the most precious and vital rights of his section to an insolent and in- d by Google COMPROMISE OF 1850- 77 satiate fanatieism, was finally reached. This settlement, known, by way of distinction, as -the " Compromise of 1850," averting for the time the dangers of disunion and civil war, met the approval of the advocates of expediency, but was opposed, with heroic pertinacity, by Mr, Davis and his associates of the States* Rights party. They saw the hollowness of its pretended just- ice, its utter wortblessness as a guarantee to the South, and sought to defeat it — first in Congress, and afterwards by the popular voice. But the sentiment of attachment to the Union triumphed over every consideration of interest, principle, even security, and the snare succeeded. Again the South receded, again received the stone instead of the asked-for loaf, and again did she compromise her most sacred rights and dearest interests, receiving, in return, tbe reluctant and insincere guarantee of the recovery of her stolen slaves. The folly of the South in assenting to this adjustment is now obvious to the dullest understanding, and subsequent evente were swift to vindicate the -wisdom, patriotism, and foresight of Mr. Davis and those who sustained him in oppo- sition to the much-vaunted Union-saving compromise. Yet, they were no more disunionists in 1850 than rebels and trai- tors in 1861. The charge of disunionism was fteely iterated against them, and not without effect, even in their own section, where the sentimental attachment to the Union was stronger, just as its sacrifices in behalf of the Union were greater, than those of the North. Jefferson Davis never was a disunionist, not even in his subsequent approval of secession, in the sense of a wanton and treasonable disposition to sever the bonds of that association of co-equa! sovereignties which the founders of the Federal Government bequeathed to their posterity. His action, at all times, has been thoroughly consistent with d by Google 78 LIFE THE COJirROMlSE. 81 commendation from his Southern associates. In this bill thare ■was a general grant, in loose and ambiguoiis phraseology, of legislative power, with a reservation that no law should be passed "in respect to African slavery." Strange!; enongh, this provision, though obviously involving an inhibition ig'imbt the enactment of laws for the protection of Southern property, escaped general detection. Mr. Davis promptly exposed it-, purpose, and offered an amendment, strikmg out the restrimt against legislation "in respect to Afri(,m slavcrj," ind pio- hibiting the enactment of any law inteilcring "with those rights of property growing out of the institution of African slavery as it exists in any of the States of this Union." To meet the concurrence of other Senators, the amendment was variously modiiied, until, as explained by Mr, Davis, it em- bodied "the general proposition that the Territorial Legisla- ture should not be prevented from passing the laws necessary for the protection of the rights of property of every kind which might be legally and constitutionally held in that ter- ritory." It is needless to say- that so just a proposition, affording equal protection to Southern with Northern insti- tutions, was defeated. ■While there was little in Mr. Clay's plan of pacification to recommend it to Southern support, beyond the merely tempo- rary staving off" of a dissolution of the Union and civil -par, it embodied propositions utterly incompatible with the security of the South. Mr. Davis especially and persi&tently com- bated ite provision for the abolition of the slave-trade in the District of Columbia, and the concession that slavery did not legally exist in the newly-acquired territory. His positi"ii upon the general issues involved can not be more clearly and forcibly stated than in his own language: d by Google 82 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. But Sir we aie eillel uion tn receive tMa ^ a measure of oomprom e — i-- a measi re in wl ch we f the minority are to reoene snn etliin^ A iiieTiure ot compro e I louk upon It as a mjdeat mode of taking that the daim to whi h has been more boldly asserted by others, anl th t I i ay b understood upon this question and that my position may go tortb to the country in the same columns that convey the aentu euts of the Senator from Kentucky I here a =ett thit never w 11 I tike le^s than the Mis- souri Or raj remise line to the Pacific Ocean, with specific right to hold slave'" in the temtoiy ! clow that line; and that before such territoues are admitted into the Union as States, slaves may be taken theie from any of the United States, at the uption of the owners I cin never emsent ti give additional power to a ma- jiiity tu cfnnit further ag^icsion upon the minority in this Union and I will never consent to any proposition which will h ve such a tenlency with it a full guarantee or counteracting meisure is connettcd w th it The pirliamontnry annilH of the Union embrace no period moie ptolifif. of giand intellectual efforts than the debates in- cident to this gigantic struij;„le. The prominence of Mr. Da- \is, with his t,\tieme aidoi m behalf of the rights and interests of his section, brought him constantly into conflict with the most emmtnt leadeit, of both the great pohtieaJ parties, who had cordial!) agreed to igmie all minor issues and unite in the paiimount puipose of saMng the Union. Cass, Douglas, Blight, Did inson, and King earnestly cooperated with Clay, ^\ebster, an J othti Whig champions, in the advocacy of the measures of compiomi'ie That Davis, younger in years and, experience than moot of then, distinguished men, amply sus- t\iiiLd his honoiable and re pmsible role as the foremost cham- pion of the South, contemporary public opinion and the Con- d by Google ME. clay's EEGARD FOR DAVIS. 83 gressional records give abundant testimony. The great com- promise chieftain, between whom and Davis occurred such obstinate and protracted encounters in debate, delighted to testify his respect for the talents and intrepidity of his " young friend," which was his habitual salutation to Davis. Despite the pronounced antagonism between them, on all measures of public policy, and their comparatively brief acquaintance, Mr. Clay repeatedly evinced, in a most touching manner, his warm regard for one who had been the companion-in-arms and cher- ished friend of a noble son,* who lost his life on the same field, upon which Davis won such deathless distinction. " My poor boy," were his words to the latter, upon his return from Mexico, " usually occupied about one-half of his letters home in praising you." A still more touching incident, illustrative of his friendly regard, at the moment not understood by those present, occurred, in the heat of discussion during the exciting period, which we have had under consideration. Iteplying to Davis, said Mr. Clay: "My friend from Mississippi — and I trust that he will permit me to call him ray friend, for between us there is a tie, the nature of which we both well understand." At this moment the utterance of the aged statesman became tremulous with emotion, and, bowing his head, his eyes were seen to fill with tears. This friendship was wai'mly recipro- cated by Mr. Davis, and its recollections are among those the most highly-cherished of his public life. With the defeat of those who had opposed the compromise, terminated, for the present. Southern resistance in Congress, though it did not for an instant check Northern aggression. Yet many prominent public characters at the South, and, as the • Henry Claj, Jr., a graduate of West Point, and at the time of hie deaai, Lientenaut-Colooel of volunteers. He fell at Buena Viata. d by Google g4 LIFE OP JErFETiSON DAVIS. sequel demonstrated, indorsed by popular sentiment, avowed themselves fully satisfied with a mere show of triumph and pretense of justice— a few paltry concessions, not -worth the parchment upon which they were written. In the meantime, upon another arena, Mr. Davis entered upon a gallant strug- gle, in opposition to a policy from which he foresaw and pre- dicted a fruitful yield of disaster in the future. d by Google THE COMPROMISE BEFORE THE CHAPTER V. OPPOSITION TO THE 00HPBOMI3B IN SOUTH CASOLISA A CANDIDATE FOE OOVEKNOE HIS DEFEAT HEALLT C, SUPPORTS GENKRAL PIBROB's BLEOTION- is'a CABINET, . B UT, though the battle had been fought and won in Con- and it was evident, at an early date, that the weight of great names in favor of the Compromise, aided by the ever- timid counsels of capital and commerce, would command for that measure the overwhelming support of the country, the States' Eights men were resolved upon a test of popular senti- ment. Accordingly, in South Carolina and Mississippi, States at all times the most advanced in Southern feeling, the oppo- nents of the Compromise organized, as did its friends also. The issue, though substantially the same, was presented in a somewhat different form in these two States. In South Carolina, where public sentiment was always sin- gularly unanimous, upon all questions affecting the honor and interests of the South, and in entire accord as to the mode and measure of redress for the grievances of the Siatea, the propriety of resistance was a foregone conclusion. Tiie only d by Google LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS, as, whether South Carolina should act separately, or await the cooperation of other Southern States. The party of cooperation triumphed in the election of members to a Stat« convention, by the decisive popular majority of seven thousand votes. In Mississippi the issue was one of resistance or aequieseence. The States' Rights, or resistance party, embraced four-fifths of the Democracy of the State and a small accession of States' Rights Whigs ; while the Union, or Compromise party, was composed of the Clay Whigs and a fraction of the Democracy, The Legislature provided an election for members of a State convention to consider the subject of Federal aggressions, to be held in September, 1851, and, in the ensuing November the regular election of Governor occurred. Much interest centred upon the gubernatorial contest, and the State was for months previous to the election the scene of great excitement. Gen- eral John A. Quitman, one of the most distinguished officers of the army, during the Mexican war, a man of the loftiest character, a reliable statesman, and sterling patriot, was nomi- nated by the States' Rights Convention. Mr. Henry S. Footo, then a Senator from Mississippi, and an active supporter of the Compromise measures, was the candidate of the Union party. While an exceedingly animated canvass between these candidates was still in progress, the election for members of the convention resulted in an aggregate majority of seven thousand five hundred votes for the Union candidates. Gen- eral Quitman, disappointed by such an unexpected and deci- sive exhibition of public sentiment, and viewing it as tho forerunner of the result of the gubernatorial election in Ifo- vember, withdrew from the contest. Mr. Davis, who had already been elected for a second term d by Google CANDIDATE FOR OOVI': UXORS HIP. 87 to the Senate, was now loolsetl to as almost tlic sole depend- ence of the States' Eights men, and they summoned him to take the field as the adversary of Mr. Foote. There was little inducement, had he consulted selfish considerations, to relin- quish a high position, already secured, and become the leader of a forlorn hope. Though gi-eatly enfeebled in health, and at that time an acute sufferer, he accepted the nomination. His sense of duty and devotion to his principles triumphed even over his physical infirmities, and, resigning his seat in the Senate, he entered upon the canvass. The result was, as had been foreseen, the defeat of Mr. Da- vis. Mr. Foote, a man of more than average ability, and of varied and extensive attainments, whose excessive garrulity and toted want of discretion disqualified him for usefulness as a member of a l^islative body, or far any practical end of statesmanship, was, nevertheless, an adroit party tactician. With great dexterity he had conducted the canvass with Gen- eral Quitman, by skillfully evading the real issfte, introducing side questions, and thus breaking the force of the plain and statesman-like arguments of his more open and less dexterous adversary. When Mr. Davis entered the field, under all the diaadvantages to which we have alluded, the election of Foote was almost univei^ally coneedefl. Had the canvass lasted a few weeks, however, the result, in all probability, would have been different. The popularity of Mr. Davis was indicated by the paltry majority (nine hundred and ninety-nine votes) given against him, as compared with the Union majorify at the election in September, for members of the conventioii. Under all tlie circumstances, his friends rightly viewed it as a pergonal triumph, and he enierifed from the contest with in- crej'.ed reputation and publir leganl. d by Google T JEFFErLSOIf The results of these appeals to popular judgment were scarcely less decisive, in favor of the Compromise, than had been its congressional victory. It was evident that the Southern people were yet lar from being ready for organized and practical resistance, and were not likely to be, until some flagrant outrage should arouse their resentmeut. Mr. Davis was now in retirement, and, though abiding the decision, of Mississippi, he was yet avowedly determined to devote his energies to the efficient organization of the States' Rights party for future struggles. Yet nothing was farther from his purpose than a Mictions agitation. His aim was to secure for the States' Eights principle a moral and numerical support in the ranks of the Democracy, which should enable its friends to wield an appropriate influence upon the policy of that party. He contemplated no organization outside of the Democracy, for the promotion of disunionism per se; and, in the Presidential canvass of 1852, separated himself from many of his closest personal and political friends, who had nominated the Presidential ticket of Troup and Quitman, upon the distinctive platform of States' Eights and scpara- The nomination of Franlilin Pierce, upon the Baltimore plat- form, met his cordial approbation, and received his active sup- port. With General Pierce, Mr. Davis held the most friendly relations, and in his constitutional opinions he had entire con- fidence. His support of the platform was quite as consistent as his advocacy of the nominee. Both indorsed, with em- phasis, the Compromise, which he had opposed, but which Mis- sissippi had ratified, and both avowed their acceptance of it, as !i finality, beyond which there was to be no farther agitation of the slavery question. In fllississippi, Louisiana, and Ten- d by Google SECKETAKY OF WAH, 89 nessee he participated actively in the canvass, and rendered most efficient service to his party, especially in the two latter States- Genera! Pierce indicated his estimate of Davis, by a prompt tender of a position in his Cabinet. Considering himself com- mitted to the fortunes of his principles in Mississippi, he pre- ferred to "remain and light the issue out there," and reluc- tantly declined. Subsequently the President-elect i him a letter expressing a desire that, upon pers< at least, Mr. Davis should be present at his inauguration. After he had reached Washington the tender of a Cabinet ap- pointment was repeated. The obvious advantages to the States' Eights party of representation in the Government, an argu- ment earnestly urged upon him by prominent Southern states- men, at length overcame his personal preference, and lie ac- cepted the position of Secretary of War. With the pohcy of President Pierce's administration, Secre- tary Davis was, of course, fully identified. Whatever of in- fluence and sympathy he could command, were employed in promoting its success, and between the President and himself there was an uninterrupted harmony of personal and official intercourse. Indeed the glory of this administration and the explanation of its title to that high award which it earned from impartial criticism, for its courageous pursuit of an up- right, constitutional policy, was the characteristic unity which prevailed between its head and his advisers. During the four years of its existence the Cabinet of President Pierce continued unchanged, at its close the head of each department surrender- ing the seals of office which he had received at its inaugur- ation. The history of no other administration is adorned with such an instance of cordial and unbroken cooperation, and the d by Google 90 ■ JJ?VFKRSf)X I>A fe«t is equally creditable to the sagacity of General Pierce in the selection of his advisers, and his consummate tact in the reconciliation of those antagonisms, which are hardly to be avoided in the operations of the complicated machinery of Government. A common statement of its enemies, that the administration must eventually break down by disorganization, in consequence of the utterly discordant elements which comjfosed it, was never realized. At one time Mr. Marey, the Secretary of State, was the wily Macchiavelli, against whose intrigues the rest of the Cabinet was in arms, while Mr. Davis was charged with play- ing alternately the roles of Eichelieu and Marplot. Of all American executives, Franklin Pierce is preemi- nently entitled to the designation of the constitutional Presi- dent, The great covenant of American liberty, so ruthlessly despoiled in these degenerate days, when opportunity and pre- text are the sufficient justilicatioh of flagrant violations of justice, was the guide whose precepts he followed witliout de- viation. His Northern birth and training did not swerve from his obligations to extend an equal protection to the interests of other sections, the patriotic executive, whom posterity will delight to honor, for his wisdom, purity, and impartiality, just in proportion as those qualities provoke the clamor of the dominant ignorance and passion of to-day. In a Cabinet, noted for its abiHty, of which William Iv. Marcy was the Premier, and Caleb Cushing the Attorney- General, Secretary Davis occupied a position worthy of his abilities and his previous reputation, and peculiarly gratifying to his military tastes. It is no disparagement of his associates to say that his strongly-marked character commanded a con- stant and emphatic recognition in the policy of the Government. d by Google SKCUETAKV OF WAR. 91 Under bis control the department of war was greatly ad- vanced in dignity and importance, receiving a character tar more distinctive and independent of other branches of the Government than it had previously claimed. He infused into all ita operations an energy till then uniinownj introducing im- provements so extensive and compreliensive as to occasion ap- prehension of an almost too powerful and independent system of military organization. It is a fact universally conceded that his administration of the War Office was incomparably superior to that of any official who has filled that position — contributing more to the promotion of efficiency in the army, to the advancement of those great national establishments so vital to the security of the nation, and to the systematic, prac- tical management of the details of the office. In reviewing Mr. Davis' conduct of this important department of the Gov- ernment, the splendid improvements which he inaugurated, his earnest and unceasing labors in behalf of the efficiency of the army, it is impossible to overestimate his eminent services to the Union, which even at that time his tradueers and those of the South would pretend he was plotting to destroy. In the Cabinet, as in the Senate, there was no measure of national ad- vantage to which he did not give his cordial support, no great national institution which he would not have fostered with generous and timely sympathy; nothing to which he was not zealously committed, promising to redound to the glory, pros- perity, and perpetuity of that Union, in whose service he had been trained, whose uniform he had proudly worn, and beneath whose banner he had braved a soldier's death. Secretary Davis made many recommendations contemplate ing radical alterations in the military system of the Union- One of his first measures was a recommendation for the thor- d by Google y2 LIFK OF JEPJTERSON DAVIS. ougli revision of the army regulations. He opposed tlie plac- ing of officers, at an early period of service, permanently upon the staff, and advocated a system, which, he contended, would improve the discipline and efficiency of officers, " whereby the right of command should follow rank by one certain rule," The increase of the medical corps ; the introduction of camels ; the introduction of the light infantry or rifle system of tac- tics, rifled muskets, and the Minie-ball were all measures ad- vocated by Secretaiy Davis, and discussed in his official papers with a force and intelligence that make them highly valuable to the military student. He ui'ged a thorough exploration of the "Western frontier, and important changes in the arrange- ment of defenses against the Indians, demonstrating the ineffi- ciency of the system of small forts for the purposes of war with the savages. To obviate, in a measure, the expense, and almost useless trouble, of locating miiitaiy posts in advance of settlement, he suggested the plan of maintaining large gar- risons at cei-tain points, situated favorably for obtaining sup- plies and accessible by steamboat or railway. From these posts strong detachmentiS could be supplied and equipped for service in the Indian country. His efforts were most strenu- ous to obtain an increase of pay to officers of the ai-my, and pensions to the widows and orphans of officers and men, upon a basis similar to that of the navy. Durmg the Crimean wai, Seciet^r; Da^is sent a i.ommt& sion, of which Major-Gentra] McClellan, then a eaptam of cavalry, was a mem'ber, to ■-tud^ and report upon the science of war and the condition of Euiopean irmie^, as illuitr'tttd ni the operations incident to tint struggle At his suggestion four new regiments — two of cavalry — were added to the army, and numerous appropriations made for the construction of new d by Google REVIVAL OF AGITATION, 93 forts, improvements in small arms, and the accumulation of munitions of war. The Presidential term of Pierce expired on the 4th of March, 1857, and with it terminated the connection of Mr, Davis with the executive branch of the Government. He re- tired with the hearty respect of hia associates, and in the enjoyment of the most confiding friendship with the late head of the Government, a feeling whioli is cherished by both, with unabated warmth, at this day. All parties con- curred in pronouncing Mr. Davis' conduct of his department successful, able, and brilliant, and in the midst of the tide of misrepresentation, with which, during and since the war, it has been sought to overwhelm his reputation, the least candid of his accusers have been compelled to this reluctant confession. Incidental to the lat« administration, but by no means traceable to its influence, had been legislation by Congress of a most important character, which was to give a powerful im- pulse to agencies long tending to the destruction of the Union, The election of Pierce had been carried with a unanimity un- precedented, upon the distinct pledge of the acceptance of the Compromise as a finality. The country, for months subse- quently, reposed in profound quiet, produced by its confidence in an approaching season of unequaled prosperity, and exempt from all danger of political agitation. This hallucination was destined to be speedily and rudely dispelled by events, which afford striking evidence of how completely the peace and hap- piness of the American people have always been at the mercy of aspiring and unscrupulous demagogues. Mr. Stephen A. d by Google 5)4 Lli'E OP JEITEESON BAVIS. Douglas must ever be held, equally by both sections, respon- sible for the disastrous agitation, whicli followed his introduc- tion of certain measures, under the pretense of a sentimental justice, or a concession of principle to the South, but in reality prompted by bis personal ambition, and ■which greatly aided to precipitate the catastrophe of disunion. Upon the application of the Territory of Nebraska for ad- mission into the Union, Senator Douglas, from the Committee on Territories, submitted a bill creating the two Territories of Nebraska and Kansas, and affirming the supersession of the Missouri restriction of 1820, which prohibited slavery north of 36° Sff, by the Compromise of 1850. It declared the Mis- souri restriction inconsistent with the principle of non~inter- vention by Congress with territorial affairs, which had been adopted iu the settlement of 1850, and therefore inoperative. This bill was apparently a mere concession of principle to the South, not likely to be of much practical value, biit still gratifying, as it gave to her citizens the right to carry their property into districts from which it had been hitherto in- hibited. Passing both houses of Congress, in 1854, it was approved by the Pierce administration,* sanctioned by the * The rep^ of the Missouri CompromiBe has been commonly alluded to as the special and loading measure of the Fierce administration. It was, in reality, not an administi'ation measure. The well-known cor- diality of Mr. Davis' relations with President Pierce induced a number of Senators to call upon Mr. Davis, on the Sunday morning previous to the introduction of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and ask his aid in securing them the pledge of the President's approval. They represented the meas- ure as contemplating merely the assertion of the rights of proper^, slaveij included, in the Territories. Mr, Davis objected, at first, to an interrup- tion of the President, on the Sabbath, for such a purpose, but finally yielded. The President promptly signified his approbation of a measure contemplating such a purpose. It is not necessary to say that the legis- lation of Congtesa embraced a far greater scope than that indicated. The d by Google UNITED STATES SENATOR. 95 Democracy generally, and greeted by the South as a triumph. It was not imagined that a victory, so purely sentimental and intangible, could be accepted by tbe North, as a pretext, for violent eruptions of sectional jealousy, and least of all did the South believe its author capable of the subsequent duplic- ity with which, by specious arguments and verbal ingenuity, he claimed for tlie measure, a construction far more insidious, but not less fatal to her interests, than the designs of pro- claimed Abolitionists. The immediate result was a tempest of excitement in the Northern States, in the midst of wliich the so-called Hepublicau party, for the first time, appeared as a formidable contestant in political struggles, and defeated the Democracy in almost every State election. The latter, with extreme difficulty, elected Mr. Buchanan to the Presidency two years afterwards. In the meantime, while his term of office as Secretary of War was still unexpired, Mr. Davis bad been elected, by the Legislature of Mississippi, to the Senate, for the term beginning March 4, 1857. On his return home, he was received by the Democracy of the State with distinguished honors. Dinners, receptions, and public entertainments of various kinds were tendered him; and, during tbe summer and autumn, previous to his departure for Washington, he addressed numerous large popular gatherings with his accustomed force and boldness upon pending issues. These addresses commanded universal attention, and were highly commended for their able, dispas- sionate, and statesman-like character, adminiatration indorsed th.e Kansas-Nebraska Bill in full, because the principle was correct, though its assertion then was wholly nnueeesaary, unprofitable, and likely to lead to mischievous results. This was the real connection of the Pierce administration with a measure for whose conse- quences flie ambition of Judge Douglas was almost solely responsible. d by Google 96 LIFE OP JEPFEESON DAVIS. His speech at Pass Christian, while on his journey to Wash- ington, was a masterly and eloquent review of the condition of the country, with its causes and remedies. He attributed the national difficulties chiefly to the puritanical intolerance and growing disregard of constitutional obligations of the North. These influences seriously menaced the safety of the Union, for which he had no hope, unle&a in the event of a reaction in Northern sentiment, or of encli resolute action by a united South as should compel her enemies to respect their constitutional duties. To the latter policy he looked as the best guarantee of the security of the South and the preserva- tion of the Union, Interference by one State with the in- stitutions of another could not, under any circumstances, be tolerated, even though resistance should eventually result in a dissolution of the Union. The latter event was possible — indeed, might become necessary — but should never be under- taken save in the last extremity. He would not disguise the profound emotion with which he contemplated the possibility of disunion. The fondest reminiscences of his life were asso- caated with the- Union, into whose military service, while yet a boy, he had entered. In his matured manhood he had fol- lowed its ilag to victory; had seen its graceful folds wave in the peaceful pageant, and, again, its colors conspicuous amid the triumphs of the battle-field; he had seen that flag in the East, brightened by the sun at its rising, and, in the West, gilded by his declining rays — and the tearing of one ster from its azure field would be to him as would the loss of a child to a bereaved parent. This speech — one of the most eloquent he has ever made — was received by his audience with unbounded enthusiasm, and was approvingly noticed by the press of botli sections. d by Google VIEWS UPON IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. 97 At Mississippi City be delivered an address in explanation of his personal course, and in vindication of the administra- tion of which he had lately been a memher. He had obeyed the will of Mississippi, respecting the legislation of 1850, though against his convictions, and, in tlie present disorders in Kansas, he saw the fruits of the unwise substitution of expediency for principle. Of President Pierce be could speali only in terms of eulogy, defended his vetoes of bills " for in- ternal improvements and eleemosynary purposes," depicting, in passives of rare and fervent eloquence, his heroic adherence to the Constitution, elevated patriotism, and distinguished vir- tues. Contrasting the conduct of the Fillmore and Pierce administrations concerning the Cuban question, he avowed his belief that Cuba would then be in possession of the United States had Congress sustained General Pierce in his prompt and decided suggestions as to the Black Warrior difficulty. Mr. Davis expressed his approbation of the course pursued by the late administration with reference to Nicaragua. "Un- lawful expeditions" should be suppressed, though he should rejoice at the establishment of American institutions in Cen- tral America, and maintained the right of the United States to a paramount influence in the affairs of the continent, with which European interference should be, at all times, promptly Wben the Thirty-fifth Congress assembled in December, 1857, the Kansas question had already developed a difficult and critical phase. The rock upon which Mr. Buchanan's administration was to split had been encountered, and the wedge prepared, with which tlie Democratic party was des- tined to be torn asunder. 7 d by Google LIFE OF JBFFEKSON DAVIR. CHAPTER VI. TO THE SENATE OPENIK-I^'K SKETCH. 109 veTiemently. Their respective attitudes were no bad illustratiou of their i a divi duality. Davis impressed the spectator, who ob- served the easy but authoritative bearing with which he put aside or assented to Toomh's suggestions, with the notion of some slight superiority, some hardly-acknowledged leadership; and Hunter's attentiveness and impassibility were characteristic of his nature, for his profundity of intellect wears the guise of stolidity, and Ms continuous industry that of inertia ; while Toomb's quick ut- terance and restless head bespoke his nervous temperament and activity of mind. But, though eaob is different from either of the others, the three have several attributes in common. They are equally eminent as statesmen and debaters; they are devoted to the same cause; they are equals in rank, and rivals in ambi- tion ; and they are about the same age, and none of them^ — let young America take notice — wears either beard or mustache. I come again to the traits which distinguish them from each other. In face and form, Davis represents the Norman type with singu- lar fidelity, if my conception of that type be correct. He is tall and sinewy, with fair hair, gray eyes, which are clear rather than bright, high forehead, straight nose, thin, compressed lips, and pointed chin. His cheek bones are hollow, and the vicinity of his month is deeply furrowed with intersecting lines. Leanness of face, length and sharpness of feature, and length of limb, and intensity of expression, rendered acute by angular, facial outline, are the general characteristics of his appearance." The controversy, excited by the question of the admission of Kansas, can not be viewed as having terminated with the mere practical decision of her status, as a State tolerating or prohibiting slavery. Southern men had freely admitted the improbability of the permanent abiding of the institution in that Territory, or elsewhere, north of the line of 36° 30', and their defeat had a far more alarming; significance than the ex- d by Google 110 LIFE Of JErFERHOS DAVIS. elusion of slavery from soil where the laws of nature opposed its location. Important conclusions were deducible from the lesson of Kansas, which the South must have been smitten with voluntary blindness not to have accepted. Of the pur- pose of the Eepublican party, never to consent to the admission of additional slave States, there was added to constantly accu- mulating proof from other sources, the bold declarations of Abolition members of Congress. Recent experience clearly demonstrated that the South could no longer rely upon the Northern Democracy in support of the plainest guarantees of the Constitution, for the protection of her property, when they were in conflict with the dominant fanaticism of that section. Accordingly, the Southern Democracy, wisely and bravely re- solved, and the unfortunate issue should not prejudge their action, to require of their Northern associates, as the condition of continued cooperation, a pledge of better faith in the future. It was in the progress of events, which may be justly called the sequel of the Kansas controversy, that Mr. Davis was most conspicuous during his second service in the Senate. His course was such as might have been anticipated from his zeal- ous and vigilant regard for constitutional pi-iuciples, and the rights and interests of his section. His feeble health had pre- vented his frequent participation in the struggles incidental to the Kansas question, but in those subsequent struggles, which, marked the dissolution of the Democratic party, he was the constant, bold, and able adversary of Douglas. The ingenious sophistries of the latter were subjected to no more searching and scathing refutations tlian those with which Davis met his every attempt at their illustration. At this period the position of Mr, Davis was no less prom- inent than in 1850, though his speeches were less frequent d by Google PARLIAMEKTARY CONTESTS WITH DO'lIGLAS. Ill and voluminous. Upon both occasions his elevation ivas an ample reward to honorable ambition, but would have been perilous in the extreme had he been deficient in those great and rare qualities which were necessary to its maintenance. Among his numerous contests with the distinguished expo- nents of the sentiment in opposition to the South, none are more memorable than his collisions with Douglas. Of these the most striking occurred on the 23d of Febru- ary, 1859, and on the 16th and 17th of May, 1860. To have, matched Douglas with an ordinary contestant, must always have resulted in disaster ; it would have been to renew the contest of Athelstane against Ivanhoe. Douglas was accus- tomed to testify, cheerfully, to the power of Davis, as evinced in their senatorial stru^les ; and it is very certain that at no other hands did he fare so badly, unless an exception be made in iavor of the remarkable speech of Senator Benjamin, of Louisiana. The latter was an adept in the strategy of debate, a parliamentary Suchet. The 23d of February, 1859, was the occasion of a pro- tracted battle between Davis and Douglas, lasting from mid- day until nearly night. This speech of Mr. Davis is, in many respects, inferior to his higher oratorical efforts, realizing less of the forms of oratory which he usually illustrated so happily, and It, wanting somcwhit m thit symmctrj haimcn> and comehness m all its featuies with which his senitortal cftorto are generill> wrought to the perfection of expiession The dicumstances undei which it wis deli\ercd howc\Lr fully meet this criticism ani show a most remarkible reidine s for the instantaneous md humed giipple of debate ini thi'. litter quality was the strong point of Douglas oratory The latter had rej be i at ^ I eat length and \\ith c ileitji iiiiiiou tea d by Google 112 lAFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. speeeh made by Mr. Davis' colleague (Mr. Brown), who was not present during Douglas' rejoinder, "Without hesitation Mr. Davis assumed the place of his absent colleague, and the result was a running debate, lasting several hours, and exhib- iting on both sides all the vivacious readiness of a gladiatorial combat. In their ordinary and characteristic speeches there was an antithesis, no less mai'ked than in their characters as men. Douglas was peculiarly American in his style of speaking. He dealt largely in the argumentum ad hominem; was very adroit in pointing out immaterial inconsistencies in hia antagonists ; he rarely discussed genei'al principles; always avoided ques- tions of abstract political science, and struggled to force the entire question into juxtaposition vnth the practical consider- ations of the immediate present. In nearly all of Davis' speeches is recognized the pervasion of intellect, which is preserved even in his most impassioned passages. He goes to the very ''foundations of jurispru- dence," illustrates by historical example, and throws upon his subject the full radiance of that noble light which is shed by diligent inquiry into the abstract truths of political and moral science. Strength, animation, energy without vehemence, clas- sical elegance, and a luminous simplicity, are features in Mr. Davis' oratory which rendered him one of the most finished, logical, and effective of contemporary pariiamentary speakers. During the Thirty-sixth Congress, which assembled in De- cember, 1859, Mr. Davis was the recognized leader of the Democratic majority of the Senate. His eSbrts, during this session, were probably the ablest of his Ufe, and never did hiS great powers of analysis and generalization appear to greater advantage. On the second of February, 1860, Mr. Davis pre- d by Google EESOLUTIONS. 113 sented a aeries of seven resolves, which embodied the views of the administration, of an overwhelming majority of the Dem- ocratic members of the Senate, and of the Soufcliern Democ- racy, and were opposed by Mr. Douglas (though absent from the Senate by sickness), Mr. Piigh, and by the Abolition Senators. They are important as the substantial expression of the doctrines upon which the Southern Democracy were already prepared to insist at the approaching National Con- vention. The jirst resolution affirms the sovereignty of the States and their delegation of authority to the Federal Government, to secure each State against domestio no less than foreign dan- gers. This resolution was designed with special reference to the recent outrages of John Brown and his associate conspira- tors, several of whom had expiated their crimes upon the gal- lows, at the hands of the authorities of Virginia. Resolution second afiirms the recognition of slavery as prop- erty by the Constitution, and that all efforts to injure it by citizens of non-slaveholding States are violations of faith. Third insists upon the absolute equality of the States. The fouHh resolution of the series, which embodied the ma- terial point of difference between Mr. Douglas and the major- ity of Democratic Senators, was modified, as stated by Mr. Davis, "after conference with friends," and finally made to read thus: Rei Ived That neither Congress nor a Territorial Legislature, whether by direct legiaiation or legiaktion of in indirect and un fiiendly oharioter posseasea power to annul or impiir tie consti tiitional r ght of any oitizen of the UnittI State to til.e hie 'ihve property jnto the Lominon Terr to s and there 1 old and enjoy the «amt. wh k the t nitoi il condition lemams d by Google 114 LIFE or JEPFERSOK DAVIS. Fifth declares it the duty of Congress to supply any needed protection to constitutional rights in a Territory, provided the executive and judicial authority has not the adequate means. The sixth resolution was an empliatic repudiation of what Mr. Douglas, by an ingenious perversion of terms, and a bold array of sophisms, was pleased to designate "popular sover- eignty"— reading tlius: "Rtsohed, That the inhabitants of a Territory of the United States, when they rightfully form a constitution to be admitted as a State into the Union, may then, for the first time, like th^ people of a State when forming a new constitution, decide for theraselTCS whether slavery, as a domestic institution, shall be maintained or prohibited within their jurisdiction; and 'they shall be admitted into the Union, with or without slavery, as their con- gtitutioa may prescribe at the time of their admission.'" The seventh and last of the series affirmed the validity and sanctity of the Fugitive Slave Law, and denounced all acts, whether of individuals or of State Legislatures, to defeat its action. The struggle upon these resolutions lasted more than three mouths, the Senate not reaching a vote upon the first of tlie series until May 24, 1860. They constituted substantially the platform presented by the South at the Charleston Democratic Convention, in April, and upon which, after the withdrawal of the Southern delegations, the Presidential ticket of Breck- inridge and Lane was nominated, and supported in the ensu- ing canvass, receiving the electoral votes of eleven States of the South. It was alleged against these resolutions, and the general principle of protection to Southern property in the Territo- d by Google DAVIS' CONSISTENCY, ries, which their advocates demanded should be s the Democratic creed, tliat thej' involved a new issue, raised for factious purposes, and were not sanctioned by any previoos action of the party. This, even if it had been true, which assuredly it was not, constituted no sufficient reason for deny- ing a plain constitutional right. But, however sustained might have been this charge of in- teonsistency against other Southern leaders, it had no application to Davis. Indeed, Douglas unequivocally admitted that the position assumed by Davis in 1860 was precisely that to which he had held for twenty years previous. While the Oregon Bill was pending in the Senate, on the 23d of June, 1848, Mr. Davis offered this amendment: "Provided, That nothing contained in this act shall he so con- strued as to authorize the prohibition of domestic slavery in said Territory whilst it remains in the' condition of a Territory of the United States." Eleven years afterwards, in his address before the Missis- sippi Democratic Convention, July 5, 1859, he said: "But if the rules of proceeding remaia unchanged, then all the remedies of the civil law would be available for the protection of property in slaves; or if the lauguage of the organic act, bj spec- ifying chancery and common-law jurisdiction, denies to us the more ample remedies of the civil law, thea those known to the common law are oertainl j in force ; and these, I have been as- sured by the highest authority, will be found sufficient. If this be so, then we are content; if it should prove otherwise, then we but ask what justice can not deny — the iegislation needful to en- able the General Government to perform its legitimate functions; and, in the meantime, we deny the power of Congress to abridge d by Google 116 T.lfE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. ot to destroy our conatitutional rights, or of the Territorial Leg- islature to obstruct the remedies known to the common law of the United States." In 1848 he advocated General Cass' election in spite of the Nicliolsoji letter, and not because he either approved or failed to detect the dangerous heresies which it contained. As a choice of evils, he preferred Cass, even upon the Nicholson letter, to General Taylor, his father-in-law, both because Caaa was the choice of his own party, and he distrusted the influ- ences which he foresaw would govern the administration of Taylor. The attention of Mr. Davis was far from being confined to the slavery question and the issues which grew out of it during the important period which we have sketched. His extensi^ acquaintance with the practical labors of legisla^ tion, and his uniformly thorough information upon all ques- tions of domestic economy, foreign affairs, the finances, and the army, were amply exemplified, to the great benefit of the country. During the debate in the Thirty-fifth Congress, on the bill proposing the issue of $20,000,000 of Treasury notes, which he opposed, he avowed himself in favor of the abolition of custom-houses, and the disbanding of the army of retainers employed to collect the import duties. Free trade was always an important article of his political creed. He valued its fra- ternizing effects upon mankind, its advantages to the laboring classes; and held that, under a system of free trade, the Gov- ernment would not be defiladed. He traced the financial distress of the country, in the "crisis" of 1867, to its commer- cial dependence on New York, whose embarrassments must, so long as that dependence continued, always afflict the country d by Google VlrilXS THE ^OilTH, 117 at large. The army, as on previous occasions, received a large share of his attention, and he advocated its increase on a plan siiLiikr to tiiut of Mr. Calhoun, when Secretary of War under President Jloiiroe, providing a skeleton organization in peace, capable of expansion in the event of war. The fishing boun- ties he opposed, as being obnoxious to tlie objections urged against class legislation. In the sunmicr of 1858, during the recess of Congress, Mr. Davis visited the North, with a view to the recuperation of his health. Sailing from Baltimore to Boston, he traversed a considerable portion of New England, and sojounied for some time in Portland, Maine. His health was materially benefited by the bracing salubrity of that delightful locality, end, both here and at other points, he was received with dem- onstrations of profound res[>ect. Upon several occasions be ■was persuaded to deliver public addresses, which were largely read and criticized. They were every-where eoniniended for their admirable catholicity of sentiment, and not less for their bold assertions of principles than for their emphatic avowals of attachment to the union of the States. His si>eech at Port- land, Maine,* was especially admired for its statesman-like dignity, and was singularly free from partisan or sectional temper. In his journey through the States of Massachusetts and New York, he was tendered distinguished honors, and addressed the people of the leading cities. On the 10th of October, he spoke in Faneuil Hall, Boston, and, on the 10th, he addressed an immense XtaaiDcratic ratification iiiCL'tiiig in New York. The following is an extract from his address upon the hit- ter occasion: *Tij be fouad at the conclusiua of this cliaptcr. d by Google 118 LIFE OP JEFFERROK DAVIS. "To each commuuitj belonga the right to decide for itself what institutions it mill have — to each people sovereign in their own sphere. It belongs only to them to decide what shall be property. You have decided it for yourselves, 3Iississippi has done so. Who has the right to gainsay it? [Applause.] It was the assertion of the right of independence — of that very right which led your fathers iuto the war of the Revolution. [Applause.] It is that which constitutes the doctrine of State Rights, on which it is my pleasure to stand. Congress has no power to determine what shall be property anywhere. Congress has only such grants as are con- tained in the Constitntion ; and it conferred no power to rule with despotic hands over the independence of the Territories." The second session of the Tliirty-fifth Congress was com- paratively uneventful, Mr. Davis was an influential advocate of the Pacific Railroad by the Southern route. His most elab- orate effort during this session was his argument against the French Spoliation Bill — denying that the failure of the Gov- ei'nment, in its earlier history, to prosecute the just claims of American citizens on the Government of France, made it in- cumbent upon the present generation to satisfy the obligations of justice incurred in the past. In reply to an invitation to attend the AVebster Birthday Festival, held in Boston, in January, 1859, Mr. Davis wrote as follows : "At a time when partisans avow the purpose to ohlitcrate the landiiiarks of our fathers, and fanaticism assails the barriers they erected for the protection of riMtts coeval with and essential to the esistence of the Union — when Federal of&ces have been sought by inciting constituencies to hostile aggressions, and exercised, not as a trust for the common welfare, but as the means of disturbing domestic tranquillity — when oaths to support the Constitution have d by Google PATRIOTIC 8BNTIMEKTS. 119 been taken with a mental reserTation to disregard its spirit, and subvert the purposes for which it was established — surely it be- comes all who are faithful to the compact of our Union, and who are resolved to maintain and preserve it, to compare differences on questions of mere expedienej, and, forming deep around the institutions we inherited, stand united to uphold, with unfaltering intent, a banner on which is inscribed the Constitutional Union of free, equal, and independent States. " May the vows of ' love and allegiance,' which you propose to renew as a fitting tribute to the memory of the illustrious states- man whose birth you commemorate, find an echo in the heart of every patriot in our land, and tend to the revival of that frater- nity which bore our fathers through the Revolution to the con- summation of the independence they transmitted to us, and tlie establishment of the more perfect Union which their wisdom de- vised to bless their posterity for ever 1 "Though deprived of the pleasure of mingling my affectionate memories and aspirations with yours, I send you my cordial greet- ing to the friends of the Constitution, and ask to be enrolled smong those whose mission is, by fraternity and good faith to every constitutional obligation, to insure that, from the Aroostook to San Diego, from Key West to Puget's Sound, the grand arch of our political temple shall stand unshaken," In tbe meantime a variety of events measurably added to the vehemence of the sectional dispute, which never, for a mo- ment, had exhibited any abatement since the opening of the Kansas imbroglio. The antagonism between the two sections, becoming more and more pronounced each day, rapidly de- veloped the true character of the struggle, as one for existence on the part of the South, against the revolutionary designs of the North, Mr. Seward, the Ajas of Black Republicanism, d by Google 120 LIFE OF JEFPERSOK DAVIS. the founder and leader of the party organized for the destruc- tion of Southern institutions, in the fall of 1858, at the city of Kochester, for the first time proclaimed his revolutionary doc- trine of an " irrepressible conflict " between the civilizations of the two sections. This announcement, from such a source, could only be accepted by the South as a menace to her peace and security. Such was her construction of it. In his address before the Mississippi Eeraoeratic Conven- tion, in July, 1859, from which we have already quoted, Mr, Davis said : "We have witnessed the organization of a party seeking the poBSQSsion of the Government, not for tho common good, not for their own particular benefit, but as the meacs of esecutiag a hos- tile purpose against a portion of the States." Approaching more directly the doctrine of Mr. Seward, he "The success of sueh a party would indeed produce an 'irre- pressible conflict.' To you would be presented the question, Will you allow the Constitutional Union to he changed into the des- potism of a majority? Will you become the subjects of a hostile Government? or will you, outeide of the Union, assert the equal- ity, the liberty and sovereignty to which you were born? For myself I say, as I said on a former occasion, in the contingency of the election of a President on the platform of Mr. Seward's Rochester speech, let the Union be dissolved. Let the 'great, but not the greatest, evil ' come ; for, as did the great and good Cal- houn, from whom is drawn that expression of value, I love and venerate the Union of these States, but I love liberty and Missis- sippi more." "When Congress assembled, in December, 1859, the lawless d by Google DBMOCEATIC PAETY DISSOLVED, 121 expedition of John Brown had greatly accelerated the inevit- able climax of disunion. Thenceforward the incipient revo- lution was, to a great extent, transferred from the hands of Congress, whose action was hut lightly regarded in comparison with the animated scenes which marked the State conventions and popular assembiages, held with reference to the approach- ing presidential nominations. Mr. Davis approved the test made at the Charleston Con- vention, by the Southern Democracy, as to the construction of the Cincinnati platform, and the demand for a more explicit announcement of the position of the party concerning slavery in the Territories. His speech, in reply to Judge Douglas, on the ll3th and :7th of May, 1860, is a vindication of Southern action at Cliarleston, and an exhaustive discussion of all the phases of the issue upon which the Democracy had divided. Events soon demonstrated the irreconcilable nature of the antagonism, which had severed this giant organization. It had simply realized the destiny of political parties. In one genera- tion they rise, as a virtue and a necessity, to remedy disorders and reform abuses ; in another generation, they are themselves the apologists of corruption and the pei-petrators of wrong. The Democratic party became insensible to the appeals of prin- ciple, and its fifty years' lease of power terminated, not speedily to be recovered, HON. JEFFERSON DAVIS AT PORTLAND, MAINE. [From the Eastern Ai^ua.] We are gratified in being able to offer our readers a faithful and qiiit« full- report of the-speeeli of Hon. Jefferson Davia, of Mississippi, on the occasion of the serenade given him by the d by Google 122 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. citizens of PortlaDd, without distinction of party, on Friday even- ing last. It will be read with interest and pleasure, and we can not douht that every sentiment, uttered by the distinguished Mis- aissippian, will find a hearty response and approval from the citi- zens of Maine, The occasion was indeed a pleasing, a hopeful one. It was in every respect the expression of generous sentiments, of kindness, hospitality, friendly regard, and the brotherhood of Ainerioan citizenship. Prominent men of all parties were present, and the expression, without exception, so far as we have heard, has been that of unmingled gratification ; and the scene was equally pleasant to look upon. The beautiful mansion of Rcn- sallaer Cram, Esq., directly opposite to Madame Blanchard'a, was illuminated, and the light thrown from the windows of the two houses revealed to view the large and perfectly orderly assemblage with which Park and Danforth Streets were crowded. We regret that our readers can get no idea of the musical voice and inspiring eloquence of the speaker from a report of his remarks ; but it ia the best we can do for them. After the mnaic had ceased, Mr. Davis appeared upon the steps, and as soon as the prolonged applause with which he waa greeted had subsided, he spoke Ju substance as follows; Fellow- CITI ZENS ; Accept my sincere thanks for thia mani- featation of your kindnesa. Vanity does not lead me so far to misconceive your purpose aa to appropriate the demonstration to myself; but it is not the less gratifying to me to be made the medium through which Maine tendera an expression of regard to her sister, Mississippi. It is, moreover, with feelings of profound gratification that I witness thia indication of that national senti- ment and fraternity which made us, and which alone can keep us, one people. At a period but as yesterday, when compared with the life of nations, these States w«Te separate, and, in some re- spects, opposing colonies, their only relation to each other was. d by Google SPEECH AT POETLAND. 123 that of a eomm-in ille^mnpe to the Go\erDmeiit of fi-reit Br tain So separite indeed almost hostile was their attitude Ihit whan tcneral htark of BenninptoQ memory was ciptured by ^i^afea on the heidwitera of the Kenneboc he was subsequently taken by them to Albany wheie they went to &e!l fura and d„-iin led away a taptive w thout interfe ence on the jart of the inhabitants of that neighb ring colony to dem nd or ol t in his release UnileJ IS we now are were a citizen of the United Stites aa an aet of hostility to oui (.ountry impuaoned or slain m any quarter of the world whether on land or aea the people of each and e^ery fefate cf the Uaion with one heart and with one^oioe would demand redre^io and w)e ^e to him agiinit whom a bnthers fclood cried to us from the grotind Such is the fruit of the wiadom and the justice wth which our father bound contending colonies at) confederation and blended diflerent habit and rival interest mto a haimonious whole so that shoulder to "houlder they ent«rod on the trial of the Revolution and atep with step trod ita thorny paths until they reached the height of nit onal independence ^nd founded the constitutional representitue hi erty whiih is our birthright Wljen the mother cjuntty entered upon her career of oppres "ion m diaregarl of chart red and constitutional j ehta our t re fathers did not atop to measuie the exact weight of the burden or to ask whether the pressure boie most uf n thi colony oi upon that, but aaw in it the infraction of a great principle the denial if a common right, in defense of which they made common cauie Massachusetts, Virginia, and South Carolina i iting with each other as to who should be foremost in the struggle where the penalty of failure would be a dishonorable ^ra^e Tempered by the tiials and sacrifices of the Eevolutlon, dignified bj its noble purpoao elevated by its brilliant triuuipha endeared to each other b\ its glorious memories, they abandontd the Confederacj not to fli apart when the outward pressure oE hoit !e flteto and armie^i were d by Google 124 LIFE OP JEFFEESON DAVIS. removed, but to draw closer their embrace in tlie formation of a more perfect Union. By snob men, thus trained and ennobled, our Constitation was framed. It stands a monument of principle, of forecast, and, aboTO all, of that liberality which made each willing to sacrifice local interest, individual prejudice, or temporary good to the generiil welfare and the perpetuity of the republican institutions which they had passed through fire and blood to secure. The grants were as broad as were necessary for the functions of the general agent, and the mutual concessions were twice blessed, blessing him who gave and bim who received. Whatever was necessary for domestic government— reqnisite in the social organization of each community — was retained by the States and the people thereof; and these it was made the duty of all to defend and maintain. Such, in very general terms, is the rich political legacy our fathers bequeathed to us. Shall we preserve and transmit it to posterity ? Yes, yes, the heart responds; and the judgment answers, the task is easily performed. It but requires that each should attend to that which most concerns him, and on whicji alone he has rightfu! power to decide and to act; that each should adhere to the terms of a written compact, and that all should cooperate for that which interest, duty, and honor demand. For the general affairs .of our country, both foreign and domes- tie, we have a national Executive and a national Legislature. Eepresentatives and Senators are chosen by districts and by States, but their acts affect the whole country, and their obliga- tions are to the whole people. He who, holding either seat, would confine his investigations to the mere interests of his imme- diate constituents, would be derelict to his plain duty; and he who would legislate in hostility to any section, would be morally unfit for the station, and surely an unsafe depository, if not a treach- erous guardian, of the inheritance with which we are blessed. No one more than myself recognizes the binding force of the alle- d by Google SPEECH AT POKTI-AND. 125 gianee which the citizen owes to the State of his eitizonship, hut that State heing a party to our compact, a memher of the Union, fealty to the Federal Constitution is not in opposition to, but flows from the allegiance due to one of the United States. Wash- ington was not less a Virginian when he eoninjanded at Boston, nor did Gates or G-reene weaken the bonds which bound them to their several States by their campaigns in the South. In propor- tion as a citizen loves his own State, will he strive to hoaor hy preserving her name and her fame free from the tarnish of having failed to observe her obligations and to fulfill her duties to her sister States. Each page of our history is illustrated by the names and deeds of those who have well understood and dis- charged the obligation. Have we so degenerated that we can no longer emulate their virtues? Have the purposes for which our Union was formed lost their value? Has patriotism ceased to be a virtue, and is narrow sectionalism no longer to be counted a crime? Shall the North not rejoice that the progress of agricul- ture in the South has given to her great staple the controlling influence of the commerce of the world, and put manufacturing nations under bond to keep the peace with the United States? Shall the South not exult in the fact that the industry and per- severing intelligence of the North has pla^ied her mechanical skill in the front ranks of the civilized world — that our mother country, whose haughty Minister, some eighty odd years ago, declared that not a hob-nail should be made in the colonies, which are now the United States, was brought, some four years ago, to recognize our preeminence by sending a commission to examine our workshops and our machinery, to perfect their own manufacture of the arms requisite for their defense ? Do not our whole people, interior and seaboard, North, South, East and West, alike feel proud of the hardihood, the enterprise, the skill, and the courage of the Yankee eailor, who has borne our flag far as the ocean bears its foam, and caused the name and character of the United States to be known d by Google 126 LIFE OP JEFFEESOX DAVIS. and respected wterever there is wealth enough to woo commerce and intelligence to honor merit? So long as we preserve and appreciate the achievements of Jefferson and Adams, of Franklin and Madison, of Hamilton, of Hancock, and of Eutledge, men ■who labored for the whole country, and lived for mankind, we can not sink to the petty strife which would sap the foundatioos and destroy the political fabric our fathers erected and bequeathed as an inheritance to our posterity forever. Since the formation of the Constitution a vast extension of ter- ritory, and the varied relations arising therefrom, have presented problems which eould not have been foreseen. It is just cause for admiration, even wonder, that the provisions of the funda- mental law should have been so fully adequate to all the wants of government, new in its organization, and new in many of the principles on which it was founded Whatever fears may have once existed as to the consequences of territorial espansion must give way before the evidence which the past affords. The General Government, strictly oonflned to its delegated functions, and the State left in the undisturbed exercise of all else, we have a theory and practice which fits our Government for immeasurable domain, and might, under a millennium of nations, embrace mankind. From the slope of the Atlantic our population, with ceaseless tide, has poured into the wide and fertile valley of the Missis- sippi, with eddying whirl has passed to the coast of the Pacific ; from the West and the East the tides are rushing toward each other, and the mind is carried to the day when all the cultivable land will be inhabited, and the American people will sigh for more wildernesses to conquer. But there is here a physico- polit- ical problem presented for our solution. Were it purely physical yoTir past triumphs would leave but little doubt of your capacity to solve it. A community which, when less than twenty thousand, conceived the grand project of crossing the White Mountains, and unaided, save by the stimulus which jeers and prophecies of failure d by Google SPEECH AT POBTJ.AND. 127 gave, successfully executed the Herculean work, might well be impatieut if it were suggested that a, physical problem was before us too difSeult for mastery. The history of man teaehes that high mountains and wide deserts have resisted the permanent esteasiort of empire, and have formed the immutable boundaries of States. From time to timo, under some able leader, have the hordes of tho upper plains of Asia swept over the adjacent country, and rolled their conquering columns over Southern Europe. Yet, after the lapse of a few generations, the physical law, to which I have referred, has asserted its supremacy, and the boundaries of those States differ little now from those which were obtained three thou- sand years ago. Rome flew her conquering eagles over the then known world, and has now subsided into the little territory on which the great city was originally built. The Alps and the Pyranees have been unable to reatraio imperial France; but her expansion was a fever- ish action her adiance and her retreat were tracked with blood, and those mountim rid^ea are the reestablished limits of her em pire bhall the Eoekj Mountains prove a dividing barr er to us f Wlio outs a central consohdited Ooiernment insteid of a Union of sovereign States, our fate might be learned from the history of other naticub Thank'* to the wisdom ind independent spirit ot our forefathers this is not the case Each &tate havm-; sole charge of its local inteiests and domestic aflairs the problem which to others haa been insoluble to us is made easy Rapid sife and ea'*y communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific will gi\e en intclligen(,B unity of interest and cooperation among all paifs of our continent wide Republic The net work of railrojdi which bind the North and the South the slope of the Atlantic ^nd the valley of the Mississippi tof,ether testify that our peopk lia\ e the power to perform m that legaid whatevei it ii their will to do We require a railroad to the Stites ot the Pacific foi jrisent uses the time no doubt will Lome when we shill hue iiei.d ot d by Google N U p Y ar pac p 3i to B t L G ffi m d wt C p It would be to trespass on your kindness and to violate the pro- prieties of the ocuasioD were I to detain the Tast concourse which Btanils before me by entering on the diso\ission of controverted topics, or by further indulging in the expression of such reflec- tions as circumstances suggest. I came to joui city in quest of health and repose. From the moment I entered it yau have show- ered upon me kindness and hospitality. Though my experience has taught me to anticipate good rather than evil from my fellow- man, it had not prepared me to espect such unremitting atten- tion as has here been bestowed. I have been jocularly asked in relation to my coming here, whether I had secured a guarantee for my safety, and lo I I have found it. I stand in the midst of thou- sands of my fellow-citizens. But, my friends, I came neither dis- trusting nor apprehensive, of which you have proof in the fact that I brought with me the objects of tenderest affection and solic- itude, my wife and my children ; they have shared with mo your hospitality, and will alike remain your debtors. If, at some future d by Google SPEECH AT PORTLAND. 129 time, when I am miDgled with the dust, and the arm of my in- fant son has been nerved for deeds of manhood, the storm of war should burst upon your city, I feel that, reljiag upon his inher- iting the instincts of his ancestors and mine, I may pledge Lim in that perilous hour to stand by your side in the defense of your hearth -stones, and in maintaining the honor of a flag whose con- stellation, though torn and smoked in many a battle by sea and land, has never been stained with dishonor, and will, I trust, for- ever fly as free as the breeze which unfolds it. A stranger to you, the salubrity of your location, and the beauty of its scenery were not wholly unknown to me, nor were there wanting associations which busy memory connected with your people. Tou will pardon me for alluding to one whose genius shed a lustre upon all it touched, and whose qualities gathered about him hosts of friends wherever he was known. Prentiss, a native of Portland, lived from youth to middle age in the county of my residence ; and the inquiries which have been made show me that the youth excit«d the interest which the greatness of the man justified, and that his memory thus remains a link to con- nect your home with mine. A cursory view, when passing through your town on former occasions, had impressed me with the great advantages of your harbor, its easy entrance, its depth, and its extensive accommodations for shipping. But its advantages and its facilities, as they have been developed by closer inspection, have grown upon me, until I realize that it is no boast, but the language of sober truth, which, in the present state of commerce, pronounces them uuequaled in any harbor of our country. And surely no place could be more inviting to an invalid who sought refuge from the heat of Southern summer. Here waving elms offer him shaded walks, and magnificent residences, sur- rounded by flowers, fill the mind with ideas of comfort and rest. If, weary of constant contact with his fellow-men, he seeks a i5eeper seclusion, there, in the background of this grand amphitheater, d by Google 130 LIFE OF JEFFF.ESOX DAVIS. He the eternal mountains, frowning with brow of rock and nap of snow upon smiling fields beneath, and there in its recesses may be found as much wildneas aud as much of solitude as the pilgrim, weary of the eares of life, can desire. If he turn to the front, your capaoioTis harbor, studded with greea islands of ever-Tarjing light and shade, and enlightened by all the stirring evidences of commercial activity, offer him the mingled charms of busy life and nature's calm repose. A few miles further, and he may sit upon the quiet shore to listen to the murmuring wave until the troubled spirit sinks to rest ; and in the little sail that vanishes on the illimitable sea we find the type of the voyage which bo is soon to take, when, his ephemeral existence closed, he embarks for that better state which lies beyond the grave. Richly endowed as you are by nature in all which contributes to pleasure and to usefulness, the stranger can not pass without paying a tribute to the much which your energy has achieved for yourselves. Where else will one find a more happy union of mag- nificence aud comfort? Where better arrangements to facilitate commerce? Where so much of industry with so little noise and bustle ? Where, in a phrase, so much effected in proportion to the means employed? We hear the puff of the engine, the roll of the wheel, the ring of the ax and the saw, but tho stormy, passionate exclamation so often mingled with the sounds are no- where heard. Tot neitter these nor other things which I have mentioned, attractive though they be, have been to me the chief charm which I have found among you. Far above all these, I place the gentle kindness, the cordial welcome, the hearty grasp which made me fee! truly and at once, though wandering afar, that I was still at home. My friends, I thank you for this addi- tional manifestation of your good-will. d by Google REPLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS. 181 EEPLY OF HON. JEITrBRSON DAVIS, OF MISSISSIPPI, TO THE SPEECH OF SENATOR DOUGLAS, IJN- THE UNITED STATES SENATE, May 16 and 17, 1860. [The Senate reBumed the conaiderfttion of the resolutions aubmitted by Mr, DaTia on the first of March, relatiye to State rights, the institution of slavery in the States, and the rights of citizens of the several States in the Territories.] Mr. Douglas haYiog concluded his speech — Mr Davis arose aad said: V P es I t Wh B the Senator from Illinois commenced his P h h d his object to be to answer to an arraign- •o t h 1 f med it, an indictment, which he said I had ^ ^ t h H therefore caused extracts to be read from luy k f th S ate. Those extracts antiounce that I have 1> tt f pp nent of what is called squatter sovereignty, J tl> t h Pi ed it heretofore, I was now, least of all, •i P il t t q rter. At a subsequent period, the fact was t t d th t th S t from Illinois and myself had beea opposed t h th th questions which I considered as most dis- t tly 1 S th rn interests in 1850. He has not answered t ih 11 g t H has not attempted to show that he did not t d th t p t n It is true he has associated himself with M CI y d h f losing, I will show that tie association does not beloDj, to him, thit upon those test questions they did not vote together. He then, somewhat vauntingly, reminded me that he was with the victorious party, asserted that the Democracy of the country then sustained his doctrine, and that I was thus out- side of that organization. With Mr. Clay I If he had been with him, he would have been in good company; but the old Jackson Democracy will be a little surprised to learn that Clay was the leader of our party, and that a man prones his allegiance to it by showing how closely he followed in the footsteps of Henry Clay. d by Google 132 LIFE OF JEFFEESOS DAVIS. Wten tte Senator opened hia argument, by deolaring his pur- pose to be fair and courteous, I little supposed that an explanation made by mc in favor of the Secretary of State, and which could not at all disturb the line of his argument, would have been fol- lowed by the rude announcement that he could not permit inter- ruption thereafter. A Senator has the right to claim excmptiou from iaterruption if he will follow the thread of his argument, direct his discourse to the question at issue, and confine himself to it ; but if he makes up a medley of arraignments of the men who have been in public life for ten years past, and addressing indi- viduals in hia presence, he should permit an interruption to be made for correction aa often as he misrepresents their position. It would have devolved on me more than once, if I had been re- sponsible for his frequent references to me, to correct him and show that he misstated facta; but as he would not permit himself to be interrupted, I am not responsible for any thing he has im- puted to me. The Senator commenced with a disclaimer of any purpose to follow what he considered a bad practice of arraigning Senators here on matters for which they stood responsible to their constitu- ents ; bat straightway proceeded to make a general arraignment of the present and the absent. I believe I constitute the only exception to whom he granted consistency, and that at the cspenso of party association, and, he would have it, at the expense of sound judgment. He not only arraigned individuals, but even States — Florida, Alabama, and Georgia — were brought to answer at the bar of the Senate for the reaolutiona they had passed; Virginia was held responsible for her policy ; Mississippi received hia critical notice. Pray, sir, what had all this to do with the question? Bapeeially, what had all this to do with what he atyled an in- dictment against him? It is a mere resort to a species of dec- lamation which has not been hoard to-day for the first time ; a pretest to put himself in the attitude of a persecuted man, and, d by Google REPLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS, 133 like the satyr's guest, blowing Lot and cold in tie same breathj in the midst of his complaint of persecution, vaunts his supreme power. If his opponents be the very small minority wliich he de- scribes, what fear has he of perseeutioa or proscription? Can he not draw a distinction between one who says: "I give no quarter to an idea," and oue who proclaims the policy of put- ting the advocates of that idea to the sword? Such was his figur- ative language. That figure of the sword, however, it seemed, as he progressed in his development, referred to the one thought always iloating through his brain — exclusion from the spoils of office, for, at last, it seemed to narrow down to the supposition that no man who agreed with him was, with our consent, to be either a Cabinet officer or a collector. Who has advanced any such doe- trine ? Have I, at this or any other period of my acquaintance with him, done any thing to justify him in attributing that opinion to me? I pause for his answer. Mr. Douglas. I do not exactly understand the Senator. I have no complaint to make of the Senator from Mississippi of ever having been unkind or ungenerous towards me, if that is what he Mr. Davis. Have I ever promulgated a doctrine which indi- cated that if my friends were in power, I would sacrifice every other wing of tho Democratic party? Mr, Douglas. I understood the making of a test on this issue against me would reach every other man that held my opinions; and, therefore, if I was not sound enough to hold office, no man agreeing with me would be; and hence, every man of my opinions would be excluded. Mr. Davis. Ah, Mr. President; I believe I now have caught the clue to the argument; it was not before apprehended. I w»3 among those who thought the Senator, with his opinions, ought not to be chairman of the Committee on Territories. This, I sup- pose, then, is the whole imposition. But have I not said to the d by Google 134 LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS, Senator, at least once, that I had no dispositiou to question Ms Democracji tliat I did not wish to withhold from him any tribute wiiich was due to his talent and his worth ? Did I not offer to re- sign the only eliairmiinship of a committee I had if the Senate would confer it upon him? Then, where is this spirit of proscrip- tion, the complaint of which has constituted some hours of his speech? If others have manifested it, I do not know it; and as the single expression of "no quarter to the doctrine of squatter sovereignty " was tb.e basis of his whole allegation, I took it for granted his reference to a purpose to do him and his friends such wrong must have been intended for me, The fact that the Senator criticised the idea of the States pre- scribing the terms on which they will act in a party convention recognized to be representative, is suggestive of an extreme mis- conception of relative position ; and the presumption with which the Senator censured what ho was pleased to term " the seceders," suggested to me a representation of the air of the great monarch of Franco when, feeling royalty and power all concentrated in his own person, he used the familiar yet remarkable expression, " the State, that's me." ' Does the Senator consider it a modest thing ia him to announce to the Democratic Convention on what terms he will accept the nomination; but presumptuous in a State to de- clare the principle on which she will give him her vote? It is aa advance on Louis Quatorze. Nothing but the most egregious vanity, something far surpassing even the bursting condition of swollen pride, could have induced the Senator to believe that I could not speak of squatter sover- eignty without meaning him. Towards the Senator, personally, I have never manifested hos- tility— indeed, could not, beeauae T have ever felt kindly. Many years of association, very frequent cooperation, manly support from him in times of trial, are all remembered by me gratefully. The Senator, therefore, had no right to assume that I was making d by Google EEPI.Y TO SENATOR DOUGIjAS. 135 war upon him. I addressed myself to a doctrine of which he was not the founder, though he was one of the early disciples ; hut he proved an unprofitable follower, for he hecanie rebellious, and ruined the logic of the doctrine. It was logical in Mr. Cass's mind ; he claimed the power to be inherent in the people who settled a new Territory, and by this inherent power he held that they might proceed to form government and to exercise its func- tions. There was logic in thatr — logic up to the point of sover- eignty. Not so with the Senator, He says the inhabitants of the Territories derive their power to form a government from the ooa- sent of Congress ; thut when we decide that there are enough of them to constitute a government, aod enact an organic law, then they have power to legislate according to their will. This power being derived from an act of Congress — a limited agency tied down to the narrow sphere of the constitutional grant — is made, by that supposition, the bestower of sovereignty on its creature. I had occasion the other day to refer to the higher law as it made its first appearance ou earth — the occasion when the tempter entered the garden of Eden. There is another phase of it. Who- ever attempts to interpose between the supreme law of the Creator and the creature, whether it be in the regions of morals or politics, proclaims a theory that wars upon every principle of government. When Congress, the agent for the States, within the limits of its authority, forms, as it were, a territorial constitution by its organic act, he who steps in and proclaims to the settlers in that Territory that they have the right to overturn the Government, to usurp to themselves powers not delegated, is preaching the higher law in the domain of politics, which is only less mischievous than its other form, because the other involves both politics and morals in one ruinous coafusion. The Senator spoke of the denial of Democratic fellowship to him. After what has been said and acknowledged by the Senator, it is not to be supposed that it could have any application to me. d by Google 136 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. It may be propi.1 to ad 1 I know of no such deuu] on the part of othei Democratic Seujt r« Fai be it fiiui me t v unt th fai.t t Wug in a majoritj ind to hold him to the haid rale he jreicribcs to US of aunenJenng an opinion where we may h^ijjen to ha^e been m a minority Were I to return n jw to him the n cisure With whi h he metes tj us when he as&umea thit .1 niaj rity in the Charleston Cin\enti a has a iit,ht to pre cube wh^t Sihall be >\ir tenets I mi^ht in reply to hira '^ay as a smoeie adhereot f fl e Democratic party how can you oppose the re olutions pending before the Senate? It twenty seven majority m a body of three hundred and thiee constituent members had as he assumes the power to 1 y djwn a binding hw whtt is to be t id of h m wl with a iingle adherent stiu Is up agnnst the whole of his Bern oeritio associates ? Ho must be 01 thide ot the ] arty according to hia enanciation he must be wandeim^ in the ditk reg ons to which he consigns the tolloweis cf Mi lancey The Senator sdid he had no taste for references to things whi h were personal and then proceeded to discuss that of which he showed h mself proioundly ignorant— the condition of things in Mississippi It 13 disagrcet 11 stand out md ^ay this inheient rij,ht can not be taken awiy by j idieul decision but ib cot one who chinis to derive the powei of the tcrr tonal legislition from a Itw of Con gress and who Snd^ the opinion of the couit onolusivo is to Congress and to all dtruin^ their luthirity from it ustojpel from any further aigument? Much of what the Si,nj,tor siid tlout the condition of public affiirs cxn only be tegirded as the f ese tatioa of his own cise and repuiiei no notii,e from me IIis witticism upon the honoi able Smatsr the Chiirman of the Committee on the Juhcury [Mr Bayaid] who is nf w ibsent because of the size of the Stjte which he repre ents leminds one that it was mentioned as an e\i dence of the stupidity of i Germin that he questioned the greit ness tf Napoleon beciuse he was horn in the little island of Oomca I know 1 ot what view tl e Senat i enteitained when he measure I tte capacity of the &i,udtoi fiom Di-Uware by the size of that d by Google REPLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS. 143 State, or the dignity of liia actios at Charleston by the number of his constituents. If there be any politiual feature which stands more prominently out than another in the Union, it is the equality of the States. Our stars have no variant size ; they shine with no unequal brilliauey. A Senator from Delaware holds a position entitled to the same respect, as such, as the Senator from any other State of the Union. More than that, the character, the conduct, the information, the capacity of that Senator might claira respect, if he was not entitled to it from his position. Twice on this occasion, and more than the same number of times heretofore, has the Senator referred to the great benefit derived from that provision which grants a trial in the local court, an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Territory, and an appeal from thence to the Supreme Court of the United States, on every ques- tion involving title to slaves. I wish to say that whatever merit attaches to that belongs to a Senator to whom the advocates of negro slavery have not often been in the hahit of acknowledging their obligations— the Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. Hale], who introduced it in 1860 as an amendment to the New Mexico Bill. We adopted it as a fair proposition, equally acceptable upon one side and the other. On its adoption, no one voted against it. That proposition was incorporated in the Kansas Bill, but unless we acknowledge obligations to the Senator from New Hampshire, how shall they be accorded for that to the Senator from Hlinois? I am asked whether the resolutions of the Senate can have the force of law. Of course not. The Senate, however, is an inde- pendent member of the Government, and from its organization should be peculiarly watchful of 8tat« rights. Before the meeting of the Charleston Convention, it was untruly stated that these resolutions were concocted to afiect the action of the Charleston Convention. Now wo are asked if they are to affect the Baltimore Convention, They were not designed for the one ; they are not pressed in view of the other. They were lutrodueed to obtain aa d by Google 144 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. espression of the opinion of the Seoate, a ptoceediDg quite fre- quent in the history of this body. It was believed that they woald have a beneficial effect, and that they were stated in terms which would show the public the error of supposing that there was a purpose on the part of the Democracy, or of the South, to enact what was called a slave code for the Territories of tiie United States. It was believed that the assertion of sound principles at this time would direct public opinion, and might be fruitful of such reuniting, harmonizing results as we all desire, and which the public need. Whether it is to have this effect or not; whether at last we are to be shorn of our national strength by personal or sectional strife, depends upon the conduct of those who have it in their power to control the result. The Democratic party, in its history, presents a high example of nationality ; its power and its usefulness has been its eo-eztension with the Union. The Demo- crats of the Northern States who vote for these resolutions, but affirm that whieh we have so often announced with pride, that there was a political opiuion which pervaded the whole country; there was a party capable to save the Union, because it be- longed to all the States. If the two Democratic Senators who alone have declared their opposition should so vote, to that extent the effect would be impaired, and they will stand in that isolation to which the Senator points as a consequence so dreadful to the Southern men at Charleston. [Here Mr. Davla gave way for a motion to adjourn, and on tho 17th rea limed.] Mr. Davis. At the close of the session of yesterday, I was speaking of the hope entertained that the Democratic party would yet be united ; that the party which had so long wielded the des- tinies of the country, for its honor, for its glory, and its progress, was not about to be cheeked midway in its career — to be buried in a premature grave; bat that it was to go on, with concentrated d by Google EEPLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS. 145 energy, toward the great ends for which it has striven sincQ 1800, by a long pull, and a strong pull, and a pull altogether, to bring the ship of State into that quiet harbor where "Vessels safe, without their hawsers, ride." This was a. hope however not founded oq aay supposition that we were to escape from the issues whii,h are piesented — «t hope not based on the proposition thit evory min =hould have his own cou struction of our cieed mJ that we shtuld unito together merely for buceess but that the paify as heietofore in each succeeding quadrennial coavintion would idd to the TL^olutions ot the pie ceding one such declaiati us as passmj, eieuts indicated and the exigencies ot ihe oountry demanded In the last four yeais a division has arisen m the Dimociatie party, upon the constmction of one ot the aiticlea of it^ cieed It behooves us in that state ot the oj.se to decide what the tiue construction 18, for if the paity be not a union of men upon pun ciple the sooner it is dissolved the better and if it be such a union, why shall not those jiinciplcs be defined so is to lenwe doubt 01 cavil and be ajplied in eveiy emergency to meet the demands of each succeeding case' Thus only can we avoid division in council and confusion in action The Senator from Illinois who pitccded me announced thit he had peiformed a pleasing duty la defending the Democratic paity That party mi^ht well cry out Save me from my defender It was a detenso of the pirty by the arraignment of its prominent members It wis the preservation of the body by the destruction of its head — for the President of the United States is for the time bun^, the head ot the party that phced him in position and the head of the party thus in pooition can not be destrojed without the disintegration of the mcmbeis and the destruction of the bodj itself I suppose the Senator howe^ei wis it his favoiite amuse ment ol shoitin^ at the luinj The lump hcietotuie hit, 10 d by Google 146 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. been those Democratic Senators who dissented from him i this time he invohed Demoi rats all o^ or the countij Not even the presiding officer, whn-.e position seals hio lip^, could escape him. And here let me say that I lound nothing in the estraet read from that gen- tleman's addiess, which, construed as wis no doubt intended, does not meet my approval , hut if tried bj the modern lexicon of the Senator, it might be rendered a contradiction to his avowed opin- ions, and by the same mode of expounding, non-intervention would bo a sin of which the whole Democracy might he convicted, ucder the indictment of squatter sovereignty. The language quoted from the address of the Vice-President is to be construed as understood at the time, at the place, and by men such as the one who used it. With that force which usually enters into his addresses — with even more than his usual eloquence — the Senator referred to the scene which awaited him upon his return to Chicago, when, as e met an infuriated mob, who assailed him for having i measures of 1850 — those compromises which, in the Northern section, it was urged had been passed in the interest of the South. But, pray, what one of those measures was it which excited the mob so described? Only one, I believe, was put in issue at the North- — the fugitive slave law; that one he did not vote for. But it was the part of manliness to say that, though absent and not voting for it, he approved of it. Such, I believe, was his commendable course on that oeeasion. I give him, there- fore, all due credit for not escaping from a responsibility to which they might not have hold him. Are we to give perpetual thanks to any oab hddntyldt less a clamor, but conceded to u th t n 11 f n 1 1 t al right— because he has c mpl d w th q m nt pi th t my regret is that it ever q d I t t f force it? It be, longed t t! 1 f tl S t t ut 1 at clause of the Constitution. They should have executed it without congressional intervention ; congressional action should only have been useful to d by Google EEPLY TO SKSATOI; DOCUI-AS. 147 give that uniformity of prooeediug whiot State action could not hive secuied CouG«rring in the depicted evil of the destmetioa of the Dcm ocratio organization it mu^t he admitted thit -iuoh consequence la the inevitable result of a ndieal diffcreoce of principle The Peniloi laments the disease, but instead of heahng, aggravates it ■\1hik pleading (he eMls of the disiuption of thepaity, it is quite appireot that, in hia miod, there i*. anothei still greater calamity for, through all his arraignment of others all his self lauditioi all his complaints of persecution, hke an air through it-, \aiii tions, appears and re ippcais the action of the Charleston Conven tion That seemed to be the heginaing and the ead of his sulie itude The oft told tale of his removal fiom the ohtirmanship of the Committee on Torntoiies had to he renewed and connected with that convention, ind even issumed as the basis on which his strength was founded in that convention I think the Senator did himself injustice I think his long career .nd distinguished labors, his ad mittcd capacity for good hereafter, constitute a better reason for the Euppoit which he leceived than the ha tbit his associates in the Senate hjd not chosen to put him m a paitn ulii position in the organization of this body It i, enough that that fut did not divert support from him; and I am aware of none of his associates here who have forced it upon public attention with a. view to affect Ho claims that an arraignment made against his Democraey has been answered by the action of a majority of the Convention at Charleston ; and then proceeds to inform the minority men that he would scorn to he the candidate of a party unless he received a majority of its votes. There was no use in making that declara- tion ; it requires not only a majority, but, under our ruling, a vote of two-thirds, for a, nomination. It was unnecessary for any body to feel scorn toward that which ho could not receive. Other un- fortunate wights might mourn the event; it belonged to the Sen- d by Google 148 LIFE OP JliPFEKHON DAVIS. itoi from Illinois to scorn it Tlie lemuk of BIi LownJes wbicli has been so often ijuoted and whioh beautiful in ittelf, has ac quued additional lalue by time tbat tbe Pre^idencj was an oflico neither to be &ougbt nor declined has no aj plication theiefoie, to the Senator for, under certuu oontmgencies he &ay« he wouU dLclmo it It doeb n t di,\ohe on lue to detide whether he hn son°ht it or not But, SIT, whj,t IS the dangei which now bi=cts the Demooratit. party? .Is it, as has been asaeited, the dootiine of inteivention by Congress, and is that doctrine new ? Is the idea that protection, by Con,^iea'<, to all lights of person or piopeity, where'ier it h-is jursdiotion so dangerous tbit, in the languige employed by tho 'Senator, it would sweep the Demociatit. partj tioni the ftoe of the earth? For what was our G-overnment instituted? Why did the Staffs confer upon the Federal G-overnment the great functions which it possesses ? For protection — mainly for protection beyond the municipal power of the States. I shall have occasion, in the progress of my remarks, to cite some authority, and to trace this from J ly p d I w II fi t h w t It wh h til S t h th hi 1 p t n l I t St t f wl h f t p t Ibym If H J a y 1 b It b th J w th 1 w f m p 'J t wh tf 1 dt tl I II Tl h t h 1 m t p t. h J d my w 11 I 11 Imt b d th t h 11 t I tj d jl th I t t P ll ■V\h t t tl t f d t wh th t th J 1 d « d th t tl 3 it - d Uy t iiy 1 blj 1 ff — wh t b i t h bl p t pit P t Th J I t tly t t th y i It d 1 p th m f h p t Uyt th y- k dff 1 Igdt d b ht p t P Tl I tte M T 1 It »ii d d 1 tl b I wh h ml w th g ' t th rdb, Google EKPLY TO SEXATOK DOUGLAS., 149 press — was read to sustain tliia general accusation agaiust what are called the Cotton States. I do not pretend t« judge bow far the Senator has the right Lere to read a private letter, which, without the authority of the writer, has gone into the public press. It is one of those (Questions which every man's sense of propriety must, in his own case, decide, Whether or not the use of that letter was justifiable, how is it to he assumed that the Southern States are bound by any opinion there enunciated? How to be asserted that we, the residents in those States, have pinned our faith to the sleeve of any man, and that we will follow his behest, no matter whither he may go? But was this the only source of information, or was the impression otherwise sustained ? Did Mr. Yancey, in his speech delivered at Charleston, justify the eonciusiona which the Senater draws from this letter? Did he admit them to be correct? There he might have found the latest evidence, and the best authority. Speaking to that point, Mr. Yancey said: "It has been charged, in order to demoralize whatever influence we might be entitled to, either from our personal or political char- aeteristies, or as representatives of the State of Alabama, that we are disruptionista, disunionists per m; that we desire to break up the party in the State of Alabama — to break up the party of the Union, and to dissolve the Union itself Each and all of these allegations, come from what quarter they may, I pronounce to be false. There is no disunionist, that I know of, in the delegation from the State of Alabama. There is no disruptionist that I know of; and if there are faetionists in our delegation, they could not have got in there, with the knowledge upon the part of our State Convention that they were of so unenviable a character. We come hero with two great purposes: first, to save the constitutional rights of the South, if it lay in our power to do so. We desire to save the South by the best means that present themselves to us ; and the State of Alabama believes that the best means now in es- isteuce is the organization of the Democratic party, if we shall be able to persuade it to adopt the constitutional basis upon which we think the South alone can be saved," d by Google 150 lAFi! OF JEITfEIiSOS" DAVIS. He further says : "We have eome here, theu, with the twofold purpose of saving the country and saving the Democracy; and if the Democracy will not lend itself to that high, holy, and elevated purpose; if it can not elevate itself ahove the mere question of how perfett shall be its mere personal organization, and how wide-spread shall bo its mere voting success, then we say to you, gentlemen, mournfully and regretfully, that, in the opinion of the State of Alabama, and, I believe, of the whole South, you have failed in your mission, aud it will be our duty to go forth, and make an appeal to the loyalty of the country to stand by that Constitntion which party organiza- tions have deliberately rejected." [Applause.] Mr. Yancey answers for himself. It was needless to go baok to old letters. Here were his remarks delivered before the conven- tion, speaking to the point in issue, and answering both as to his purposes and as to the motives of thosewith whom he conferred and acted. The Senator nest cited the resolutions of the State of Alabama; and here he seemed to rest the main point in his argument. The Senator said that Alabama, in 1856, had demanded of the Demo- cratic convention, non-intervention, and that, in 1860, she had retired from the convention because it insisted upon non-interveu- tion. He read one of the resolutions of the Alabama Convention of 1856 ; but the one which bore upon the point was not read. The one which was conclusive as to the position of Alabama then, and its relation to her position now, was exactly the one that was omitted — I read from the resolutions of this year — was as follows ; "Sesolved, farther, That we re-affirm so much of the first resolu- tion of the platform adopted in the convection by the Democracy of this State, on the 8th of January, 1856, as relates to the sub- ject of slavery, to-wit." It then goes on to quote from that resolution of 1856, as follows; " Tlie unqualified right of the people of the slaveholding States d by Google BErLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS. 151 t th p t t f tl p p ty tl "^ t tl TeiTJto- 1 th w 11 h h t t 1 raents are y t g ! J 1848 Tl t t th d f J f th r ! G t Vy 11 proper II t y th T t all the t f th U 1 St t tl w tl th p I ty of eyury d It d th t th m 1 in p t t d Ij tie United bt I wh 1 th T t d t. th ty S t 1 th d f th t St t« wh h w h Id ponaible ft d 11 d t h w thd w b h received wwlt f t hhddmda tlfll measure f h hts D 1 h t ? Th m t 11 only be m 1 by 1 th f t th t 1 It f 1848 ad 1856 tdth Ittptt dlmitfmh Geucral (. t 'Wl t th th y t ? That, iu th C t pi tf th y h 1 d th y ht 1 that which th y t 1 th t wh h ly 1 d t ^5 nueh for th ] t f f tl h f th J t f t y ia the t f h Btftw thw ftljld eglected t t I f w 11 th t d t y t? If th y h d failed at m t t 1 m th p t t th y t b t j j d, Id al! t t f 1 t? C 1 1 t I ht ternal— tti" filbyybdyfm A Im may re- t t y p a f th t f th C 1 1 t So the t w 1 1 b w tl 1 f tl f t w t t d. That th > t t t d h w by th d H II w t y 11 ty th t I 1 1 k thus to p k 1 t t t d t b 1 t tl d t ea of the S wddt mblht IPdt xcept in th I t ) f t 1 I fl p i! !lj tie House d by Google 152 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. of Representatives to elect. When that contingency arri¥os, the question will be before us. I am sorry that it should have heen prematurely introduced. But since the aetioa of the recent con- vention at Charleston is presented as the basis of argument, it may be as well to refer to it, and see what it is. The majority report, presented by seventeen States of the Union, and those the States t 1 bl t g Dm t te — th St t t 1 t Dm t tthtthyh b dd & db 1 t wt ] th w t b tt d— th t St te p t 1 f Ih t f It f wh h t 1 tl 1 1 t p t t A ty f St t p t d th lit! w 1 f h ht_ t tly d y t b t t w t~ 1 d ty p t w bm tt d b g tl C t pi tf p 1 mpl It t th t m J ty f d 1 t d pt i tl m *y P t 1 t t m J ty f St t d t pp 1 J ly f th t^ d th b t d II b 1-1 t bt th t t w by m J ty f d 1 g t if h h 1 b 1 ft t h w b b t tl t 1 y f th m Is— -0 f th d t wh 1 m j t d b d tl f tl It f m tl 1 w— t t 1 p d tl t t =!tat tl d 1 f w t t d t t t tl St t th y w t th t wl th y w t t d t t t th t t b t d wh thyw ttly htdt t Thm t w bd t, did th dby p so m d by th wh h d i p t ty t L, w t j p th t th m ty p t Id t h i, t m j ty f th 1 I f f 111 tin pmttdt th w t th C t \ th Id t 1 bt d as pp bj th t ft] m tt m J ty f tl St t f h y 1 d b p k h & th t th t t th ff t f th d pt i th jl tf 1:; I 1 t h y dby Google little of substance a t A;,a n I fiad th t after tl s a lof t od ot a platform a delegate from Tennessee offered a resolut n That all the o t zens of the Un ted States have an e ju 1 ht to settle w th the p 0[ e tj tl e T t es of the Ua ted States and that der tl e de on ot the Supreme Oo rt of 1 e "Uu ted Sta,fe6 wl !i ^ra e o^n ze as a orrect expos n of 1 e Constttut on of the Un ted States ne tl er the r r i^hts of i er 01 J r perty ca be lest oyed or mja red by cod^ e n 1 or t r to 1 le^ slation It doe not appear that a e wa k t Tl e rent bel ef tl at t w Id ha e been a lopted If t h 1 ! sen t would have been an acknowledgment by the Democracy, in con- vention assembled, that the question had been settled by the de- cisions of the Supreme Court. But in the progress of the con- vention, when they came to balloting, it appears, by an analysis of the vote for candidates, that the Seuator from Illinois received from seventeen undoubted Democratic States of the Union casting one hundred and twenty seven eleetoial votes but eleven votes It is not such a gie\t trmmph then m the Deiaoeratic in,w i is claimed It does not su&ce to add up the number of votes wheie they dr not avail It I'l not fair to biiog the \otes of Veimont where I believe nobodj expects we "hall be aa oessful and count them for a puticular can 1 date The electoixl \otos — iu 1 these alone tell upon the result in 1 if ippears that in those States which have been counted certain to cast their electoral votes foi the candidate who nii^ht have bt-en nominited at that convention the Senator received but ele\en This is but meagre claim to bind us to his ear as the successful champion of the majority This IS but smiU basii for the boast thit his hopes were giatified that he woull not jeceive the noroiuation unless sustained by a majority of the ] arty and that bis opinions had recei\ed the m dorse mei t of the Democracy Mv dcv 1 on to the I tj js life 1 i. If the a ■"'li on 1 e d d by Google 154 LIFE OF JEFFKHSON UAVIB. lowabie, it may be said tliat I inherited my political principles, I derive tliem from a revolutionary father — one of tlie earnest friends of Mr. Jefferson ; who, after the revolution which achieved our independence, bore his full part in the civil revolution of 1800, which emancipated ua from federal usurpation and consoli- dation. I therefore have all that devotion to party which belongs to habitual leverenee dud contidence But sir that devotion ti pirty lesta on the assumption ttat it is to m'iintim sound pun oiples that it is to stiive hereafter as heretofore, to cany out the gieat oirdinal creed in which the Democratic party was founded When the lesoktions of 1798 and 170^ aie discaidod, when we fly from the extreme ot minarchy to land in the dm ger to rep ut 111,'*, aniiehy, j,nd the Democritic paity sajs its aim lb paialyzed — tan not be rii'ted to maintain coaifitutional lights, my devotion to its orginization is at in end It fails theacefoi ward in flio puiposes foi whioh it was established , and if there be a constitutional party m the land which in the linguige of Mr Jefferson would find in the vigor of the Federal Goveinment the best hope for our liberty and secuiitj to th,i,t paity I =hould attach myself whenever thit sad contingency arose The reiulutions of 17'^8 and 1709 though duected ig unit uaurpatirn were equaliy directed against the dinj,prs of anjrcbj Their piini,iples iie aliLe applicable to bith Their cardinal creed was a Federal dovernment according to the grants con ferred upon it and these righteously administered It is not fjjr to the men who taught us the lessons of Democracy that they should be held responsible for a theory which leives the Federal Ginernment as one who has aldicated all luthoiity to stand at the mercy of local usurpations Least of ill does then teaching n dintam that this G-jvcrnmunt has no powt-i ovki the Teiritories thit this Government hat no obkgition to pr jtect the n^ht^ of per eon and property in the Territories ; for, among the first acts under the Constitution, was one which both asserted and exercised the power. d by Google EEPLY TO SENATOK JXJUGLAS. 155 After the adoption of the Constitution, in 1789, an act was passed, to wMcli reference is frequently made as. being a confirm- ation of the ordinance of 1787; and this has been repeated so often that it has received genera! belief. There was a constitu- tional provision which requirec! all obligations and engagements under the confederation to hold good under the Constitution. If there was an obligation ov an engagement growing out of the or- dinance of 1787, out of the deed of cession by Virginia, it was transmitted to the Government established under the CoDstitution ; hut that Congress under the Constitution gave it no vitality— that they added no force to it, is apparent from the fact which is so often relied upon an autliority. It was in view of this fact, in full remembrance of this and of other facts connected with it, that Mr. Madison said, in relation to passing regulations for the Ter- ritories, that " Congress did not regard the interdiction of slavery among the needful regulations contemplated by the Constitution, since, in none of the teiritoml governments created by them, was such an interdict found," I am aware that Justice McLean has viewed this as an historical error of Mr. Madison. I sball not assume to decide between such high autborlties. The act is ;is follows : '•An Asl to provide for Ihe government of Ihe Terriiory ■narth-ment of the Ohio Kivor. " Whereas; In order that the ordinance of the United States in Congress assembled, for the government of the territory north-west of the river Ohio, may continue to have full eifect, it ia requisite that certain provisions should he made so as to adapt the same to the present Constitution of the United States. " Section 1. Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Sepresen- latlvcs of the United States of Ameriea in Congrem assembled. That, in all cases in which, by the said ordinance, any information is to be given, or communication made, hy the governor of the said Territory to the United States in Congress assembled, or to any of their officers, it shall be the duty of the said governor to give d by Google 156 LIFE OF JFFFEilbOX DAVIS. such information, and to make sucii communication, to the Presi- dent of the United States; and the President shall nomioat*, and, bj and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint all officers which, by the said ordinaoce, were to have been ap- pointed by the United States in Congress assembled ; and all officers so appointed shall be commissioned by him; and iu all cases where the United States in Congress assembled might, hy the said ordinance, make any commission, or remove from ayiy office, the President is hereby declared to have the same powers to revocation and removal. " Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That in the case of the death, removal, resignation, or necessary abseace of the governor of the said Territory, the secretary thereof shall be, and he is hereby authorized and required to execute all the powers and perform all the duties of the governor during the vacancy occasioned by the removal, resignation, or necessary absence of the said goverucr. "Approved August 7, 1789." All thjt IS to ht, found in this act which fi^or-f the auipositi n and fieqnent asieitiou that unlei the I. rstitution the u hnance of 17b7 was ratified and confiri led i to be found in the preamble and that pieam>le so vaguely allude^ to it that the idea is lefuted bvreferente to an act which followel soon afterwird^ — tin, jcf of 17>i— fr n wl ch I will r 1 i ii^le ecticu Sec 3 i dJf t firther mirtrl That whci a p r on h 11 to labor in any of the United States or in either of the Teiiito ries on the north west oi south ot the n\er Ohio under the laws thereof shill escape mtj mj other of the tiid bt tes or Teniti nes the person to whom =ui-h lervicc or Hhot niaj be dut his agent or attorney is hereby emjoweied to seize or aritst =; ich fugitive from labor," etc. Is it not apparent that, when the Congress legislated in 1793, they recognized the existence of slavery and protected tliat kind of property in the territory north-west of the river Ohio, and is it d by Google EBPI.T TO SENATOR DOU.IT.AS. 157 not conclusive that they did not intend, bj the act of 1780, to confiriiii ratify, and give effect to the ordinance of 1787, which would have excluded it? This doctrine of protection, then, ia not new. It goes back to the foundation of the Government, It ia traceable down through all tKe early controversies ; and they arose at least as early as 1790. It is found in the messages of Mr Jefieio^a ind Mr. Madison, and in the legislation of Congress; and also in the messages of the elder Adams. There was not one of the first four Presidents of the United States who did not recOj^mze thi^> ibligation of protec- tion, who did not assert this power on the part of the Federal Government and not one of them eicr attempted to penert it to a powei to destriy If dm ion m the Den oualic p ity i* to tiise now heciuse ot this doctrine it is nst lioni the change by those who aaseit it hut of tho'se whj deny it It is not fiom the inlio duftion of a new featuie in the theory cf ur (ro^ernmeut but fr m the d nid ot ll it whi h wa re ,,u /vd in its veiy be n \^ I understool the main argim nt of the Sm'itoi it was ba^ed ufon the general poitulite that the Demociatic Contention uf 1848 re ^nizod a now doctiine a doctrine which inhibited the Rener 1 (tov rnnent from inteifenn., in iny wiy e ther for the piotcction of jr peity oi otheiw se w th the local affiira of a Teintory he heli the paity re ponsillo for all the opmioni entertained by tie candidate m 1848 1 ecause the paity hid nominated him and he qujted the record to "show what States by voting for him had c mmitt«d them^ehes to the doetiine of the Nich l&on letter He even quote! South Cirolin'j represented by that man who be came famous tfr a single ict and as South Carolinians Siid with out luthority at home to sust un t B it this was cited as i kd,, ing the faith of South Ca olini to the doctiine (f the Niche Ison letter;" and, worse than all, the Senator did this, though he knew that the doctrine of the " Nicholson letter " was the subject of con- d by Google 168 LIFE OF JEFFi:i;aox davis. troversy for years subseijiaeutiy; that, what was the true construc- tion of that letter, entered into the canvass in the Southern States ; that the construction which Mr. Cass himself placed upon it at a subsequent period was there denied; and the Senator might have remembered, if he had chosen to recollect so unimportant a thing, that I ouce had to explain to him, ten years ago, the fact that I repudiated the doctrine of that letter at the time it was published, and that the Democracy of Mississippi had well-nigh crucified me for the construction which I placed upon it ; there were men mean enough to suspect that the construction I gave to the Nicholson letter was prompted by the confidence and affection I felt for Gen- eral Taylor. At a subsequent period, however, Mr. Cass thor- oughly reviewed it. He uttered, for him, very harsh language against all who had doubted the true construction of his letter, and he construed it just as I had done during the canvass of 1848. It remains only to add that I supported Mr. Cass, not be- cause of the doctrine of the Nicholson letter, but in despite of it; because I believed a Democratic President, with a Democratic cab- inet and Democratic counselors in the two houses of Congress, and he as honest a man as I believed Mr. Cass to be, would he a safer reliance than his opponent, who personally possessed my confi- dence as much as any man living, but who was of and must draw his advisers from a party, the tenets of which I believed to be opposed to the interests of the country as tliey were to all my political convictions. I little thought at that time that my advocacy of Mr. Cass, upon such grounds as these, or his support by the State of which I am a citizen, would at any future day be quoted as an indorsement of the opinions contained in the Nicholson letter as those opinuns were a£1:erwards defined. But it is cot only upon this letfci but equally upon the resolutions of tho convention as constructive Df that letter, that he rested his argument, I will here say to the Senator that if, at any time, I do him the least injustice, speaking d by Google EEPLY TO 8ENAT0B DOUGLAS. 159 as I do from such notes as I could take while he progressed, I will thank him to correct me. But this letter entered into the cauvaas; there was a doubt about its coustruetion ; there were men who asserted that they had posi- tive authority for saying that it meant that the people of a Terri- tory could only exclude slavery when the Territory should form a constitution and be admitted as a State. This doubt continued to tang over the construction, and it was that doubt alone which secured Mr. Cass the vote of Mississippi. If the true construction had been certainly knowu he would have had no chance to get it. Our majority went down from thousands to hundreds, as it was. In Alabama the decrease was greater. It was not that the doc- trine was countenanced, but the douht as to the true meaning of the letter, and the constantly reiterated assertion that it only meant the Territories when they should ho admitted as States, enabled him to carry those States. But if I mistook the Senator there, I think probably I did not on another point : that he claimed the support of certain Southern men for Mr. Eichardson as Speaker of the House to be by them an acknowledgment of the doctrine of squatter sov- I suppose those Southern men who voted for Mr. Richardson voted for him aa I did for Mr. Cass, in despite of his opinions on that question, because they preferred Mr. Richardson to Mr. Banks, even with squatter sovereignty. They considered that the latter waS carrying an amount of heresies which greatly exceeded the value of squatter sovereignty. It was a choice of evils — not an indorsement of his opinions. Neither did they this year in- dorse the opinions on that point of Mr. McClernand when they voted for him. According to the Senator's argument I could show him that Illinois was committed to the doctrine of federal protec- tion to property in the Territories and the remedy of secession as a State right; committed irrevocably, unmistakably, with no right d by Google 160 I.IFE OF JEFPEESON DAVIS. to plead any ignorance of the political creed of tliu iudiyidual, or tte meaning of his words. In 1852—1 refer to it with pride— Illinois did me the honor to vote consistently for me for the Vice-Presidency, up to the time of adjournment; though in 1850, and in 1851, I had done al! these acta which have been spoken of, and the Senator has admit- ted my consistency, in opinions which were avowed with at least such perspicuity as left nobody in doubt as to my opinion. Did Illinois then adopt my theory of protection in the Territories, or of the right of State secession? No, sir. I hold them to no such consequences. Some of the old inhabitants of Illinois may have remembered mo when their northern frontier was a wilderness, when they and I had kind relations in the face of hostile Indians. Some of them may have remembered me, and, I believe, kindly, as associated with them, at a later period, on the fields of Mexico. The Senator himself, I know, remembered kindly his association with me in the halls of Congress. It was these bonds which gave me the confidence of the State of Illinois. I never misconstrued it. I never pretended to put them in the attitude of adopting all my opinions. Never required it, never desired it, save as in so far as wishing all men would agree with me, confidently believing my position to be true. At a later period, and when these questions were more important in the public mind, when public attention has been more directed to them, when public opinion has been more matured, at the very time when the Senator claims that his doctrine culminated, the State of Illinois voted for a gentleman for Vice-President at Cincinnati who held the same opinions with myself, or, if there was a difi'erence, held them to a greater ex- treme—I mean General Quitman. Mr. Douglas. We made no test on any one. Mr. Davis. Then, how did the South become responsible for the doctrine of General Cass, by consenting to his nomination in 1848, and supporting his election? But at a later period, down d by Google EEPT.Y TO SESATOR DOUGJI.AS. 161 to the present session, wliat is the position in whiuh the Senator places his friends — those sterling DemocratM, uDcompromising Anti- Kuow-Nothings; men who give no quarter to the American party, and yot who voted this year for Mr. Smith, of North Carolina, to he Speaker of the House of Representatives. Is the Senator an- swered? Does he not see that there is no justice in assuming a vote for an individual to be tho entire adoption of his opinions? He cited, in this eonnettioii, a resolutioo of 1848, as having been framed to cover the doctrines of the Nicholson letter; and he claimed thus to have shown that the convention not only under- stood it, but adopted it, and made it the party creed, and that we were bound to it from that period forward. He even had that reso- lution of 1848 read, in order that there should he, at no future time, any question as to tho principle which the party then avowed; that it should be fixed as a starting point in all the future progress of Democracy. I was surprised at the importaace the Senator at- tached to that resolution of 1848, because it was not new; it was not framed to meet the opinions of the Nieholson letter, but came down fioin a period as remote as 1840; was copied into the plat- foim of 1844, and agam into that of 1848, being the expression which the condition of the country in 1840 had induced^a dec- kiatiun of opinion glowing out of the agitation in the two houses of Congiess at that diy and the fearful strides which antislavery was making, and which Mr Calhoun had labored to check by the decliration of consfitutioiial truths, as set forth in his Senate reso- lutions of 1837-8 That there may be no mistake on this point, and particularly as the Senator attached special importance to it, I will turn to the platform of 1840, and read from it, so that it shall be found to be — Ma, Douglas. It is conceded. Mr. Davis. The Senator concedes the fact, that the resolution of 1848 was a copy of that of 1840, and with the concession foils his argument. The platforms of 1840 and 1844 were rc-afErmed 11 d by Google 162 LIFE OP JBFFEESOS DAVIS. in 1848; and, consequently, the resolution of '48 being identical with, that of '40, was not a construction of the letter written in 1847. True to its instincts and to its practices, the Democratic party, from time to time, continued to add to their "platform " whatever was needful for action by the Government in tlie condition of the country. Thus, in 1844, they re-asserted the platform of 1840; and they added thereto, because of a question then pending, that — "The re-annexation of Texas, at the earliest practicable period, is a great Ameiica.n measure, which the convention recommend to the cordial support of the Democracy of the Union." In 1848 they re-adopted the resoltitious of 1844; and were not a little laughed at for keeping up the question of Texas after it had been annexed. In 1852 a new question had arisen ; the meas- ures of 1850 had presented, with great force to the public mind, the necessity for some expression of opinion upon the disturbing questions which the measures of 1850 had been designed to quiet. Therefore, in 1852, the party, true to its obligation to announce its principles, and to meet issues as they arise, said : " Resolved, That the foregoing proposition (referring to the res- olution of 1848) covers, and was intended to embrace, the whole subject of slavery agitation in Congress ; and, therefore, the Dem- ocratic party in the Union, standing on this national platform, will abide by '»iid adhere to a faithful execution of the act known as the compromise measure, settled by the last Congress, the act for reclaiming fugitives fiom labor included; which act, being de- signed to carry out an express provision of the Constitution, can not, with fidelity thereto, be repealed, or so changed as to destroy or impair its effieacj " Rewhi-d That the Democratic-party will restrain all attempts at renewing, in Congress or out of it, the agitation of the slave question under whatc\ er shape or color the attempt may be made.' This was the addition made in 1852, and it was made because d by Google REPLY TO SENA'rOE DOUGLAS. 163 of the agitation which then prevailed through the country against the fugitive slave act, and it was because the fugitive slave act, aod that alone, was assailed, that the Demoeratio convention met the issue on that measure specifioallj, and for the same reason it received the approbation of the Southern States. Had this been considered as the indorsement of the slave trade bill for the Dis- trict of Columbia, it would not have received their approval. The agitation was in relation to recovering fugitive slaves, and the Democratic party boldly and truly met the living issue, and de- clared its position upon it. In 1856 other questions had arisen. It was necessary to meet them. The convention did meet them, and met them in a manner which was satisfactory, because it was believed to be full. I will not weary the Senate by reading the reaolntions of 1856 ; they are familiar to every body. I only quote a portion of them : " The American Democracy recognize and adopt the principlea contained in the organic laws establishing the Territories of Kan- sas and Nebraska as embodying the only sound and safe solution of the ' slavery question ' upon which the great national idea of the people of this whole country can repose in its determined conserv- atism of the Union— noa -in terferenee by Congress with slavery in State and Territory, oi in the District of Columbia. " That, by the uniform application of this Democratic principle to the organization of Territories, and to the admission of new States, with or without domestic slavery, as they may elect, the equal rights of all States will be preserved intact, the original compaota of the Constitution maintained inviolate, and the perpe- tuity and expansion of this Union insured to its utmost capacity of embracing, in peace and harmony, every future American State that may be constituted or annexed with a republican form of gov- ernment." Pray, what can this mean ? Squatter sovereignty ? Incapacity of the Federal Groveraraeut to enact any law for the protection of slave property anywhere? Could that be in the face of a struggle d by Google 164 TJFE OF JEFPERSOS DAVIS. that we were constantly carrying on against the opponents of tlio fugitive slave law? Could that he, in the face of the fact that a majority had trodden down our constitutional rights in the Dis- trict of Columbia, by legislating in relation to that particular char- acter of property, and that they had failed to redeem a promise they had sacredly made to pass a law for the protection of slave property, so as to punish any one who should seduce, or entice, or abduot it from an owner in this District? With all these things fresh in mind, what did they mean? They meant that Congress should not decide the question, whether that institution should eslst within a Territory or not. They did not mean to withdraw from the inhabitants of the Diatrict of Columbia that protection to which they were entitled, and which is almost annually given by legislation; and yet States and Territories and the District of Columbia are all grouped together, as the points npon which this idea rests, and to which it is directed. It meant that Congress was not to legislate to interfere with the rights of property anywhere ; not to attempt to decide what should he the institutions maintained anywhere ; but surely not to disclaim the right to protect property, wliether on sea or on land, wherever the Federal Government had jurisdiction and power. But some stress has been laid upon the resolution, which says that this principle should be applied to "The organization of the Territories, and to the admission of new States, with or without domestic slavery, as they may elect." What docs "may elect" mean? Does it refer to organization of the Territory? 'Who may elect? Congress organizes the Ter- ritories. Did it mean that the Territories were to elect? It docs not say ao. What doos it say? ^'That by the uniform application of this Democratic principle to the organization of Territories, and to the admission of new States, with or without domestic slavery, as they may elect." d by Google EEPLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS, 165 And here it met a question wtieh Bad disturbed the peace of the country, and well-nigh destrojed the Union — the right of a State holdiDg slaves to he admitted into the Union. It was de- clared here that the State so admitted should elect whether it would or would not bave slaves. There ia nothing in that which logically applies to the organization of a Territory. But if this he in doubt, let us come to the last resolution, which saya : " We reoogniae the right of the people of all the Territories, in- cluding Kansas and Nebraska, acting through the legally and fairly- expressed will of a majority of actual resideata — " Does it stop there ? No — "and whenever the number of their inhabitauts justifies it, to form a conatitution, with or without domestic slavery, and be ad- mitted into the Union upon terms of perfect equality with the other States." If there had been any doubt before as to what " may elect " re- ferred to, this resolution'certainly removed it. It is clear they meant, that when a Territory had a auffioiout number of inhabit- aats, and came to form a constitution, then it might decide the question as it pleased. From that doctrine, I know no Democrat who now diasents. I have thua, because of the aasertion that this was a new idea attempted to he interjected into the Democratic creed, gone over Borne portion of its history. Important by its connection with the existing agitation, and last in the series, is an act with the usher- ing in of which the Senator ia more familiar than myself, and on which he made remarks, to which, it ia probable, some of those who acted with him, will reply. I wish merely to say, in relatioa to the Kansaa-Ncbraska act, that there are expressions in it which seem to me not of doubtful meaning, such as, " in all cases ia- volving title to slavea, or involving the question of personal free- dom," there should be a trial before the courts, and without refcr- d by Google 166 LIFE OF JEFFEESON BAVI8. ence to the amount involved, an appeal to tlie Supreme Court of the Territory, and from thence to the Supreme Court of the United States. If there was no right of property there ; if we had no right to recognize it there ; if some soveroign was te determine whetlier it existed or not, why did we say that the Suprerae Court of the United States, in the last resort, should decide the question? If it was SB admitted thing, by that bill, that the Territorial Leg- islature should decide it, why did we provide for taking the case to the Supreme Court? If it had been believed then, as it ia as- serted now, that a Territory possessed all the power of a State; that the inhabitants of a Territory eould meet in convention and decide tio question as the people of a State might do, there was nothing to be carried to the Supreme Court. You can not appeal from the decision of a constitutional convention of a State to the Supreme Court of the United States, to decide whether slave prop- erty shall be prohibited or admitted within the limits of a State ; and if they rest on the same footing, what is the meaning of that clause of the bill ? But this organic law further provides, just as the resolution of the convention had done, that when a legal majority of the resi- dents of either Territory formed a constitution, then, at their will, they might recognize or exclude slavery, and come into the Union as co-equal States. This fixes the period, defines the time at which the territorial inhabitants may perform this act, and clearly forbids the idea that it was intended, by those who enacted the law, to acknowledge that power to be existent in the inhabitants of a Territory during their territorial condition. If I am mistaken in this ; if there was a contemporaneous construction of it differing from this, the Senators who ait around me and who were then mem- bers of the body, will not fail to remember it. The Senator asserts that, in relation to this point, those who acted with him have changed, and claims for himself to have been consistent. If this be so, it proves nothing as to the present, and d by Google REPLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS. 167 onlj inliMdual opmioua t to tte piit I ilo not lecjarl consis- teney as a vt,ry high yirtue neither it appears does he ; for he told us that if it could he shown to him that he was m error on anj p int he would U ange his opin on How could that be? Whj would undertake ti ahow the Senatoi thit he was m error? Who w uld undertake to meas^ure the altitude of the Colossus who be&trideb the world and annouaces for Jnd of and bj himself, W c the Democracy i.h thout^h m his peison all thit remained of the party was now eoDcentrated ' Other men are permitted to chaise becdu'^e other men mxy be miatikcn and if they are honest whea convicted of tKn eiror they must change but how caa one expect to ctnvince the Senator who wheie all is change, staals chaageless btiU / In the course of his reply tj me — if indeed it mij be called Bueh tt seemed to he rather a review of e^eiy thing except what I had said— -he set me the bad example of going into the canvass in mj own State It is the fir&t I trust it will be (be 1 st time, I shall t l!ow his example and now only to the extent of the occa- sion where criticism wis invited by unusual publicity In the canvass which the '«cnat r had with his opponent Mi Lincoln, and the debates of whioh l-ne heea published in a book we fiud much which if it he ion istent with his coui e as I hdl known it,, only proves to me hew 1 ttle able I wis (o undeistand his meaning in fcimer times The Kansas Nebraska Bill having asjrec 1 the right for which I contend to he the sulject of judiciil decision it having specially provided the mode and tioilitated the process by which that right fchould be brought to the courts and finally decide 1 not allowing any che k to be interpo e I because of amount that bill having c nt nuel the pov oi n ivhich hal been intr luced int the New Mexi o Bill how are we t un lei^ttiid (he *en^(or s declarations, (hat le( the Supreme C urt dec de as they may the inhabitants of a Terr t jry may liwtully almit or exclude livery as tl ey please? d by Google 168 LIFE OF JEFFEESOS DAVIS. What a hollow promise was given to us in the provision referring this vexed questiou to judicia! decision, in order that we might reach a point oq which we might peacefully rest, if the inhabitants of the Territories for which Congress had legislated could still de- cide the question and set aside any decision of the Supreme Court, and do this lawfully. I ask, was it not to give us a stone, when lie promised us bread ; to incorporate a provision in the organic act securing the right of appeal to the courts, if, as now stated, those courts wore known to be powerless to grant a remedy? Here there is a very broad distiuetion to be drawn betweeu the power of the inhabitants of a Territory, or of any local community, lawfully to do a thing, and forcibly to do it. If the Senator had said, that whatever might be the decision of the Supreme Court, whatever might be the laws of Congress, whatever might be the laws of the Territories, in the face of an infuriated mob, such as he described on another occasion, it would be impossible for a man to hold a slave against their will, ho would but have avowed the truism that in our country the law waits upon public opinion. But he says that they can do it lawfully. If his positiou had been such as I have just slated, it would have struck me as the opinion I had always supposed him to entertain. More than that, it woald have struck me as the opinion which no one could gainsay ; which, at any time, I would have been ready to admit. Nothing is more clear than that no law could prevail in our country, where force, as a governmental mean, is almost unknown, against a pervading sen- timent in the community. Every body admits that; and it was in that view of the case that this question has been so often declared to be a mere abstraction. It is an abstraction so far as any one would expect in security to hold against the fixed purpose and all- pervadiug will of the community, whether territorial or other, a species of property, ambulatory, liable, because it has mind enough to go, to be enticed away whenever freed from physical restraint, and which would be nearly valueless if so restrained. It muy be d by Google REPLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS. 169 an abstraction as a practical question of pecuniary advantage, but it is not the less dear to those who assert the constitutional right. It would constitute a very good reason why no one should ever say there was an attempt to force slavery on an unwilling people, but Eo reason why tho right should not be recogniaed by the Federal Government as one belonging to the equal privileges and immu- nities of every citizen of the United States. But the main point of the Senator's argument — and it deserved to be so, because it is tho main question now in the public mind- was, what is the meaning of non-intervention? He defined it to be synonynio** with squatter sovereignty, or with popular sov- ereignty The Senator and myself do not seem to bo getting any nearer together; because the very thing which he describes constitutes the only case in which I would admit the necessity, and, conse- quently, the propriety of the people acting without authority. If men were oast upon a desert isiand, the sovereignty of which was unknown, over which no jurisdiction was exercised, they would find themselves necessitated to establish rules which should sub- t b tw th m 1 d th p pi f C i f wh th Cg flltg thm g mtwh tfdt t t t 1 1 w wl p ly d >y th I w f 1 ft t ! ft th mm t t w L tl w h j py w y th y h d ht^ ht w g t f th ty f th — t m k 1 f th t f tl ! 1 ff B t th w t ty It w tl ! t 1 m f 1ft y t p p th b fytilpw— etito thi t fp dpptyTh gtytft td any organization or government of the world, remained there still ; and whenever that sovereignty extended itself over them, whether shipwrecked mariners, or adventurous Americans — whether cast off by the sea, or whether finding their weary way across the desert d by Google 170 LIFE OF JEFFEESOS" PAVIS. plains wHch lie west of the Mississippi — whenever the hand of the GovernmeDt holding sovereign jurisdiction was laid upon them, they became subject; their sovereign control of their own affairs ceased. In our case, the directing hand of the Government is laid upon them at the moment of the enactment of an organic law Therefore, the very point at which the Senator begins his sov- ereignty, is the point at which the necessity, and, in my view, the claim ceases. But suppose that a territorial legislature, acting under an or- ganic law, not defining their mnnicipal powers further than has been general in such laws, should pass a law to exclude slave property, would the Senator vot« to repeal it? Mb, Douglas. I will answer. I would not, because the Dem- ocratic party is pledged to non-intervention ; because, furthermore, whether such an act is constitutional or not is a judicial question. If it is anconstitutional, the court will so decide, and it will be null and void without repeal. If it is constitutional, the people have a right to pass it. If unconstitutional, it is void, and the court will ascertain the fact; and we pledged our honors to abide the decision Mr. Davis. If it will not embarrass the Senator, I would ask him if, as Chief Executive of the United States, he would sign a bill to protect slave property in State, Territory, or District of Columbia— an act of Congress? Me. Douglas. It will be time enough for mo, or any other man, to say what bills he will sign, when he is in a position to exercise the power. Mr. Davis, The Senator has a right to make me that answer. I was only leading on to a fair understanding of the Senator and myself about non-intervention I think it now appears that, in the minds of the gentlemen, non-intervention is a shadowy, unsubstantial doctrine, which has its application according to the circumstances of the case. It d by Google REPLY TO SENATOE DOUGLAS. 171 ceased to apply when it was necessary to anaul ao act in Kansas in relation to the political rights of the inhahitants. It had no application when it was necessary to declare that the old Pvenoh laws should not be revived in the Territory of Kansas after the ] I f th M C mp m h t t rose an insurmountable brr wt wpp dt wpwythe Mexican decrees, 1 w d 1 th 0 t t t and laws of the United Stat f tte d th p t th Territory acquired from M It tl m h t tly varying application, il lb tyt hlgdd finition, one which quite tfi mimttk t Ifidt the Senator's speech, in wh b h y A! b m ted tb d t ine of non-intervention 186b Th Al b m It f 18j6 asserted the right to p t t n 1 th d ty f th F 1 1 C ernment to give it. So, f h ta d p th It f Al bama in 1856, non-inter- t y d d t d (ly agrees with what I be- 1 — mi by th F d 1 C ernment, of any powers th m p 1 t t 1 g t which is not necessary ; thttbbdfPd ipw hllb laid as lightly as possi- bl p y t t 1 mm ty th t ts laws shall he limited f' i^ f h th t t h 11 leave the inhabitants as unfettered m the determination of their local legislation as the rights of the people of the States will permit, and the duty of the G-en- eral Government will allow. But when non-intervention is pressed to the point of depriving the arm of the Federal Government of its one great function of protection, then it is the doctrine which we denounce— which we call squatter sovereignty; the renuncia- tion by Congress, and the turning over to the inhabitants a sov- ereignty which, rightfully, it does not belong to the one to grant or the other to claim, and, fiirther and worse, thus to diyest the Federal Government of a duty wbiob the Constitution requires it to perform. To show that this view is not new — that it does not rest singly d by Google 172 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. on the resolutions of Alabama, I will refer to a subject, tte action Tipou wiiieh has already been quoted in this debate — the Oregon Bill, During the discussion of the Oregon Bill, I offered in the Senate, June 23, 1848, aa amendment which I will read : " Provided, That nothing contained in this act shall he so con- strued as to authorize the prohibition of domestic slavery in said Territory, whilst it remains in the condition of a Territory of the United States." Upon this, I will cite the authority of Mr. Calhoua, ia his speech oa the Oregon Bill, June 27, 1848: " The twelfth section of this bill is intended to assert and main- tain this demand of the non-slaveholding States, while it remains a Territory, not openly or directly, but indirectly, by extending the provisions of the bill for the establishment of the Iowa Territory to this, and hy ratifying the acts of the informal and self-consti- tuted government of Oregon, which, among others, contains one prohibiting the introduction of slavery. It thus, in reality, adopts what ia called the Wilmot proviso, not only for Oregon, but, as the Bill now stands, for New Mexico and California. The amendment, on the contrary, moved by the Senator from Mississippi, near me [Mr. Davis], is intended to assert and maintain the position of the slave-holding States. It leaves the Territory free and open to all the citizens of the United States, and would overrule, if adopted, the act of the self- constituted Territory of Oregon, and the twelfth eeetion, as far as it relates to the subject under consideration. We have thus fairly presented the grounds taken hy the non-slave- holding and the slave-holding States, or as I shall call them, for the sake of brevity, the Northern and Southern States, in thoir whole extent, for discussion." — Appendix to Congressional Ghhe, fldrtieih Congress, first Session, p. 868. I will quote also one of the speeches which he made near tha close of his life, at a time when he was so far wasted by disease that it was necessary for him to ask the Senator from Virginlii, who sita before me [Mr. Mason], to read the speech which his d by Google EEPLY TO SENATOR DOUGI-AS. 1V3 3 Spirit impelled him to compose, but which he was phys- ically unable to deliver; aud once again he came to the Senatfl chamber, when standing yet more nearly on the conflnea of death • he rose, his heart failing in its functions, his voice faltered, but his will was BO strong that he could not realize that the icy haad was upon him, and he erroneously thought he was oppressed by the weight of his overcoat. True to his devotion to the principles he had always advocated, clinging, to the last hour of his life, to the duty to maintain the rights of his constituents, still he was here, and his honored, though feeble, voice was raised for the mainten- ance of the great principle to which his life had been devoted. From the speech I read as follows : "The plan of the administration can not save the Union, because it can have no effect whatever towards satisfying the Stafes com- posing the Southern section of the Union, that they can, consist- ently with safety and honor, remain in the Union. It is, in fact, but a modification of the Wilmot proviso. It proposes to effect the same object — to exclude the South from all territory acquired by the Mexican treaty. It is well known that the South is united against the Wilmot proviso, and has committed itself, by solemn resolutions, to resist should it be adopted. Its opposition is not to the name, bat that which it proposes to effect. That, the Southern States told to he unconstitutional, unjust, inconsistent with their equality as members of the common Union, and calculated to destroy irretrievably the equilibrium between the two sections. These objections equally apply to what, for brevity, I will call the executive proviso. There is no difference between it and the Wil- mot, except in the mode of effecting the object; and in that respect, I must say that the latter is much the least objectionable. It goes to its object openly, boldly, and distinetly. It claims for Congress unlimited power over the Territories, and proposes to assert it over the territories acquired from Mexico by a positive prohibition of slavery. Not so the executive proviso. It takes an indirect course, and, in order to elude the Wilmot proviso, and thereby avoid encountering the united and determined resistance of the South, it denies, by implication, the authority of Congress to d by Google 174 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. legislate for the Territories, and claims the right as belonging excluBively to the inhabitants of the Territories. But to effect the objeot of escludiug the South, it takes eare, in the meantime, to let iu immigrants freely from the Northern States, and all other quarters, except from the South, which it takes special care to exclude by holding up to them the danger of having their slaves liberated under the Mexican laws. The necessary consequence is to exclude the South from the Territories, just as effeetaally as would the Wilmot proviso. The only difference, in this respect, is, that what one proposes to effect directly and openly, the other proposes to effect indirectly and covertly. "But the executive proviso is more objectionable than the Wil- mot iu another and more important particular. The latter, to effect its object, inflicts a dangerous wound upon the Constitution, by depriving the Southern States, as joint partners and owners of the Territories, of their rights in them ; but it inflicts no greater wound than is absolutely necessary to effect its object. The former, on the contrary, while it inflicts the same wound, inflicts others equally gi'eat, and, if possible, greater, as I shall nest proceed to explain, "In claiming the right for the inhabitants, instead of Con- gress, to legislate for the Territories, the executive proviso assumes that the sovereignty over the Territories is vested in the former, or, to express it in the language used in a resolution offered by one of the Senators from Texas [General Houston, now absent], they 'have the same inherent right of self-government as the people in the States,' The assumption is utterly unfounded, un- constitutional, without example, and contrary to the entire prac- tice of the Government, from its commencement to the present tjme, as I shall proceed to show." — CalJiouns Worhs vol. 4, p. 562. Mr. Davis. I find that I must abridge, by abstaining from the reading of extracts. When this question arose in 1820, Nathaniel Macon, by many considered the wisest man of his day, held the proposed interference to be unauthorized and innovative. In ari' guing against the Missouri Compromise, as it was called— the attempt by Congress to prescribe where slaves might or might not be held— the exercise, by the Federal Government north of a cer- d by Google HEPLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS. 175 tain point, of usurped power by an act of inliibition, Mr. Macon said our true policy was that wliieli had thus far guided the coun- try in safety : the policy of non-intervention. By non-iotervention he meant the absence of hostile legi'*ia(ion not the ab^eoce ot f,ov ernmental protection Our doctrine on this point i» not new lut that of our opponents i^> so The Senator from 111 nois sumes that the ttngie^iional acts of 1850 meant no letji lit on in relation to slaie prcjertj while ID the face of that declaration stand the laws enacted in that year and the promise of another which has not been enitted— law directed to the question of slavery ind slave property one even declaring, in certain contingencies as a penalty on the ownei the emancipation of his slaie in the District of Columbia If ni action upon the question was the pre^iihng op niin what does the legis lation mean? Was it non action in the District of Columbia? Be it remembered the resolution of the Cincinnati platform says " Non-interferenee by Congress with slavery in ^tite and Teni tory, or in the Diatnet of Columbia They aie all upon the same footing, Agaiuj he said that the Badger amendment was a declintioa of no protection to slave property The Badger ameu \ i ent declares that the repeal of the M i=ouii Comprimise •ihall not reMve the laws or usages which j recs ■ited that eompiomise and the history of the times, so far as I unlcritand it is that it intended to assure those gentlemen who feired that the laws of France would be revived in the Teintories of Kansas and Nebraski by the repeal of the act of 1820, and that they would be held responsible for having, by congressional act, established slavery. The Southern men did not desire Congress to establish slavery. It has been our uniform declaration that we denied the power of the Federal Gov- ernment either to establish or prohibit it; that we claimed for it protection as property recognized by the Constitution, and we claimed the right for it, as property, to go, and to receive federal d by Google 176 LIFE OF JEFFEESOS DAVIS. protection wherever the jurisdiction of tie United States is ex- clusipo. We olaini that the Constitution of the United States, in recognizing this property, making it the basis of representation, put it, not upon the footing which it holds between foreign na- tions, hut upon the basis of the compact or union of the States; that, under the delegated grant to regulate commerce between the States, it did not belong to a State; therefore, without breach of contract, they can not, bj any regulation, prohibit transit, and the compact provided that they should not change the character of master and slave in the case of a fugitive. Could Congress sur- render, for the States and their citizens, the claim and protection for those or other constitutional rights, against invasion by a State? If not, surely it can not be done in the case of a Terri- tory, a possession of the States. The word "protecting," in that amendment, referred to laws which preexisted- — laws which it was not designed, by the Democrats, to revive when they declared the repeal of the Missouri Compromise; and, therefore, I think, did not affect the question of constitutional right and of federal power In all these territorial bills we have the language "subject to the Constitution ;" that is to say, that the inhabitants are to man- age their local affairs in their own way, subject to the Constitu- tion; which, I suppose, might be rendered thus: "In their own waj provided their own way shtll be somebody ekes way," for " subject to the Constitution ' means, in acrordinee with an instru- ment with which the territorial inhabitants had nothing to do, with the eon'Jtiuction of which they were not oonceined, in the adoption of whii,h they had no part, and in relation to which it has sometimes been questioned whether they h id any responsi- bility My own views, as (he Senator is aware from previous dis- cussions, (and It is needless to repeat,) are that the Constitution IS CO extensive with the United States , that the designation in eludes the Territories, that they are necessarily subject to the Con- d by Google EEPLY TO SENATOR BOUGLAS.' 177 Siitution. But if they be subject to the Constitution, and subject to the organic act, that is the language used ; that organic act be- ing the law of Congress, that Constitution being the compact of the States— the territorial inhabitants having no lot or part in one or the other, save as they are imposed upon them— where is tlieir claim to sovereignty? Where is their right to do as they please? The States have a compact, and the agent of the States gives to the Territories a species of constitution in the organic act, which endures and binds them until they throw off what the Senator on another occasion termed the minority condition, and assume the majority condition as a State. The remark to which I refer was 0 th 1 11 t d nit Iowa and Florida into the Union. The Sen - at th n d Tl f tl may bind the son during his minority, but the mo- rn t tl t h tth son) attains his majority, his fetters are severed, and h f to regulate his own conduct. So, sir, with the Ter- ritories ; they are subject to the juvisdietion and control of Con- gress during infancy, their minority; but when they attain their majority, and obtain admission into the Union, they are free from all restraints and restrictions, except such as the Constitntion of the United States imposes upon each and all of the States." This was the doctrine of territorial sovereignty— -perhaps that is the phrase— at that period. At a later period, in March, 1856, the Senator said : -C--J -- a Territory remains in abeyance, suspended -^ v..e United States in trust for the people, until they shall be ad- mitted into the Union as a State. In the meantime, they are admitted to enjoy and exercise all the rights and privileges of self- government, in subordination to the Constitution of the United States, and in obedience to the organic law passed by Congress in pursuance of that instrument." If it be admitted— and I believe there is no issue between the Senator and myself on that p f the United d by Google 178 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. States have no right to pass a law excluding slaves from a Terri- tory, or determining in the Territory the relation of master and slave, of parent and child, of guardian and ward ; that they have n light anywhere to dec le what is property hut are only bound to protect uch iij,hta as preestfted the f rmation of the Union — to peifoim ueh functions as aie intrusted to them as the agent of the ''tate^i — thea how can Congies Ihui fettered confer upon a eorpoiition of its creation — uf on a territ r al leni 1 ture, by an or^'iaic act a power to deteini ne i h t ^1 all be jioj ity within the limitB of "iuch Territory? But again if it were admitted th t the territor il mhibitants di] possess this severe gnty thit they hid the light to do as they pieased on all subject then would in e the q lesti n if they weie tuthorized through their repiesentatives thus to act whence came the opj o'ltion to what wts called the Lecompton Constitu- tion' How did Congress nnd r this state of facta g t the right to inqiiro whetlcr tho'^e repiesentatives in that case really ex- pres ed the w II of the [Lople Still moie how did Congress get the right to decide that those representatives must submit their action to a popular vote in a manner not prescribed by the people of the Territory, however eraiup.Jitly it may have been advisable, convenient, and proper in the judgment of the Congress of the United States? What revisory function had we, if they, through their representatives, had full power to act on all such subjects whatsoever ? I have necessarily, in answering the Senator, gone somewhat into the argummHm ad kominem. Though it is not entirely ex- hausted, I think enough has been said to show the Senate in what the difference between ns consists. If it be necessary fur- ther to illustrate it, I might ask how did he propose to annul the organic act for Utah, if the recognition by tho Congress of a suffi- cient number of inhabitants to justify the organization of a terri- torial government transferred the sovereignty to the inhabitants d by Google REl'LY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS. 179 of the Territory? If s (ciei^nty p.&sei by tl e recognition of the fut how did he piopo e by oongresaioual act to annul the tern toriil existence ot Utdh? It IS this confusion of ideas it is this confounding of terms this changing of language this applying of new meanings to word" out of which I think a lar e poition of the di pute ar es lur in&tmoe it i^ claimed that President Pierce in us og tie phiase existing and inc pient States meant to include all Ter ritonei and thus that he had hound me to a doctrine which pre eluded my strictures on whit I termed squattei sovereignty This all arises from the mi« ise of langua-,L An incipient bt ite ji, cording to ny idci i= the feriitoiial condition at the moment it changes mtj that if a State It is when the peojle a simble in con\entijn tj form a constitution as i btate that they aie in the condition of an mc pient Stite Van u names were appliel to the Territories at an earlier period Sometime^ they wen, called ' new States because they were expected to bo States sometimes they weie called States in embryo and it requires a d termina tion of the language thit is employed befoie it is p ssiblo to arrive at any conelu ion as to the differences of i ndei tanding hi,tw(,en gentlemen Therefoie it was and I think very pr^pt ly (^but nft as the Senator uj posed to catechise h m) that I asked him \\hat he neint by mn intervention befoie I coniini.n ed these remarks In the same line ff errors was the confusion which resulted m his assumm„ tiiit the ey Is I leseribed as growing out of his doc trine on the plains of Kinsaa weie a denunciation on my pirt of the bill called the Kansas Nebraska Bill At the time that b 11 passed I did not foresee ■ili the evils which have resulted fio n the doLtrine lascl upon it but which I do Dot think the bill sustains I am not willing now to turn on those who were in a pisition which 0 mpelled them to act mide them icfponsible and tn iiv st mjsclf of any re pou ibility whi h bel n^s t my -jjij "^ tnt r d by Google 180 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS, tainod. I will not seek to judge after the fact and hold the measure up agaiost those who had to judge before. Therefore I will fraDkiy avow that I should have sustaiaed that bill if I had been in the Senate ; but I did not foresee or apprehend such evils as immediately grew up on the plains of Kansas. I looked then, as our fathers had looked before, to the settlemeat of the question of what institutions should exist there, as one to be determined by soil and climate, and by the pleasure of those who should volun- tarily go into the country. Such, however, was not the case. The form of the Kansas -Nebraska Bill invited to a controversy — not foreseen. I was not charging the Senator with any responsibility for it, but the variation of its terms invited contending parties to meet on the plains of Kansas, and had well-nigh eventuated in civil war. The great respect which even the most lawless of those adventurers in Kansas had for the name and the laws of the United States, served, by the timely interposition of the Federal force and laws, to restrain the excited masses and prevented violence from assuming larger proportions than combats between squads of ad- venturers. This brings me in the line of rejoinder, to the meaning of the phrase, " the people of a Territory, like those of a State, should decide for themselves," etc., the language quoted against the Pres- ident in the remarks of the Senator. This, it was announced, was squatter sovereignty in its broadest sense; and it was added, that the present Executive was elected to the high office he holds ou that construction of the platform. Now, I do not know how it is that the Senator has the power to decide why the people voted for a candidate. I rather suppoip, among the many millions who did vote, there must have been a variety of reason?, and that it is not in the power of any oTie man to detlare what determined the result. But waiving that, is it squatter sovereignty in its broadest sense ? Is it a declaration that the inhabitants of a Territory can } all the powers of a State? It says that, "like the peo- d by Google EEl'LY TO SEXATOR UOUGLAS. 181 pie of a State," they may decide for themselves. Thea how do the people of a State decide the question of what shall be prop- erty within the State? Every one knows that it is by calling a convention, and that the people, represented in convention, and forming a constitution their fundamental law, do this. Every one knows that, under the constitutions and hills of rights which pre- vail in the republican States of this Union, no legislature is in- vested with that power. If this he the mode which is prescribed in the States — the modes which the States must pursue I ask you, in the name of common sense, can the language of the Pres- ident be construed to mean that a territorial legislature may do what it is admitted the legislature of a State can not; or that the inhabitants of a Territory can assemble a conventiou, and form a fiindamental law overriding the organic act, to which the Senator has already acknowledged they stand subject uitil they be admit- ted as a State? We of the South, I know, are arraigned, and many believe justly, for starting a new question which distracts the Democratic party. I have endeavored, therefore, to show that it is not new. I have also asserted, what I think is clear, that if it were new, but yet a constitutional right, it is not only our province, but our duty to assert it — to assei-t it whenever or wherever that right is contro- verted. It is assorted now with more force than at a former period, for the simple reason that it is now denied, to an extent which has never been known before. We do not seek, in the cant language of the day, to force slavery on an unwilling people. IVc know full well there is no power to do it; and our limited obser- vation has not yet made us acquainted with the man who was likely to have a slave forced upon him, or who could get one with- out paying a very high price for him. He must first have the will, and, secondly, he must put money in his purse to enable him to get one. They are too valuable among those by wbom they are now owned, to be forced upon any body. Not admitting the correctness d by Google 182 T^TFF. OF JEFFEIISON DAVIS. of tlie doctrine which the Senator promulgated in his magazine article in relatioa to a local character of slave property, I recog- nize the laws of nature, and that immigration will follow in the Hues where any species of labor may be most profitably employed ; all, therefore, we have asked— fulfillment of the original compaut of our fathers — ^was that there should be no discrimination ; that all prop- !d ! I lly p t t d th t w 1 1 1 h p mtt d t JP t t tl C t d St I wh m w h d 1 h 11 1 1 h Id a t t k w a ti. Itm lOmlltL vh P P ty i &. Ill wwiiijQi J tl th r th t G m t h t 1 d as t f p w Th t 1 tit dh b dby y m t g 1 1 1 t 1 Wh p p ty w p th 1 d 1 th p d 1 G t B t Ijt y dt pdftWl th ffdl hhl dwt J tpdwh 1 1 m t> d wl w h t t ly h th j w d d ty f th r 1 1 G t w fi 1 t th able strife in relation to property, with the existence of which, those making the interference had no municipal connection, or moral responsibility. I do not admit that sovereignty necessarily exists in the Fed- eral Government or in a territorial government. I deny the Sen- ator's proposition, which Is broadly laid down, of the necessity which must exist for it in the one place or the other. I hold that sovereignty exists only in a State, or in the United States in their associated capacity, to whom sovereignty may be transferred, but that their agent is incapable of receiving it, and, still more, of transferring it to territorial, inhabitants. I was sorry for some of the remarks which he thought it neces- sary to make, as to the position of the South on this question, and for his assertion that the resolutions of the convention of dby Google EEPLY TO SENATOE DOUGLAS. 183 I'iib put tliL. pro aliieiy mm iiid llie 'Vhjl tioniih on the t me {.loiind I thmk it wdb ilto^ether uDju«t I did aot tliiiik it ^uitc Iclonged to Iiim to mike it I was aware that his cppoaent In that canvi'-s to TOhuh I refarred had made a propheiy th it he Was bOLiiei or latei to land in the lanki of the Rej ubhr ina Even it I had belie'ved it I would njt hate ilitaea — an 1 it is 1 le to candor to say I do not believe Me Davis Well it is ummpoitint I feel nijbelf tor ti iiiicd becdUbo I promised to do it to refer to «orae portion jf the jfint record of the bemtor and mjSLlf m ]S lO ji as I hue consiin ed so much time I would noid it In that same m e^zii e iitide to whah I ha\e referied the beaator took occasi u to letei to some part wiiich I had taken la the lep,i&lation of 1850 and I must ,ay he puscnteJ me nufiirly He put me in the attitude of onL who «,ii seeking to disi.rimiaate and left himself in the position of one who was willing to gne equal piofection to all kinds of property In that magazine uticle the Senitor rejie seats Mr Djvi^i of Mississippi as haTiug endeivored to disciim mate m favoi of slive pioperty, and Mr Chafce of Ohio %b hav ing mide a like attempt Xj, Congress? Surely tt does not become those who hue pointed us to that provision as the peace-offering, as the means for final adjustment, now to say that it meant nothing more than that the courts would go on hereafter, as heretofore, to try questions of property. The courts have decided the question so far as they could decide any political question, A case arose in relation to property in a slave held within a Territory where a law of Congress deelai-ed d by Google EEPLY TO SENATOR DOUfSLAS. 187 tlia sitch pvoperty should not be held. The whole ease was before them; every tiling, except the mere teehnical point that the law was not enacted by a territorial legislature. Why, then, if we ai'e to abide by the decisioE of the Supreme Court in any future case, do they maintain this controversy on the mere technical point which now divides, disturbs, distracts, destroys the efficiency and the power of the Democratic party? To the Senator, I know, as a question of property, it is a matter of no consequence. I should do him injustice if I left any one to infer that I treated bis argu- ment as one made by a man prejudiced against the character of property involved in the question. That is not his position ; but I assert that he is pursuing an i^nis fatuus — not a light caught from the Constitution— but a vapor which has arisen from the cor- rupting cess-pools of sectional strife, of faction, and individual rivalry. Measured by any standard of common sense, its magni- tude would be too small to disturb the adjustment of the balance of our country. There can be no appeal to humanity made upon this basis. Least of all could it be made to one who, like the Sen- ator and myself, has seen this species of property in its sparse con- dition on the north-western frontier, and seen it go out without disturbing the tranquillity of the community, as it had previously existed without injury to any one, if not to the benefit of the in- dividual who hold it. He has no apprehension, he can have none, that it is to retard the political prosperity of the future States — now the Territories. He can have no apprehension that in that country, to which they never would be carried except for domestic purposes, they could ever so accumulate as to constitute a great po- litical element He Lniwa and i,iejy man who his had esjcnence and judgment muit ad nit that the few who miy be so ciiried theie have nothing to feii but the climite and that liv ng in that close conneetiou which belon^jS to one oi hilf a dizen ot them in a fam ily, the kindeat relat ons which it is po aible to exist between mas ter and dependent exibt between the e domestics an 1 tl en owners d by Google 188 LIFE OF JEFPKKSON DAVIS. Tliere is a relation belonging to this species of property, unlike ttat of the apprentice or the hired man, which awakens whatever there is of kindness or of nobility of soul in the heart of him who owns it; this can only be alienated, obscured, or destroyed by coJ- lecting this species of property into such masses that the owner is not personally acquainted with the individuals who compose it. In the relation, however, which can exist in the north-western Terri- tories, the mere domestic connection of one, two, or, at most, half a dozen servants in a family, associating with the children as they grow up, attending upon age as it declines, there can be nothing against which either philanthropy or humanity can make an appeal. Not even the emancipationist could raise his voice, for this is the high road and the open gate to the condition in which the masters would, from interest, in a few years, desire the emancipation of every one who may thus be taken to the north-western frontier. Mr. President, I briefly and reluctantly referred, because the subject had been introduced, to the attitude of Mississippi on a former occasion. I will now as briefly say, that in 1851, and in 1860, Mississippi was, and is, ready to make every concession which it becomes her to make to the welfare and the safety of the Union. If, on a former occasion, she hoped too much from frater- nity, the responsibility for her disappointment rests upon those who fail to fulfill her expectations. She still clings to the G-overnment as our fathers formed it. She is ready to-day aod to-morrow, as in her past, and though brief, yet brilliant history, to maintain that Government in all its power, and to vindicate its honor with ait the means she possesses. I say brilliant history; for it was in the very morning of her existence that her sons, on the plains of New Or- leans, were announced, in general orders to have been the admiration of one army and the wonder of the other. That we had a division, in relation to the measures enacted in 1850, is true; that the Southern rights men became the minority in the eleation which re- sulted, is true; hut no figure of speech could warrant the Senator d by Google REPLY TO SBNA'TOK DOUGLAS. 189 in Speaking of them as subdued ; as coming to him or any body else for quarter. I deemed it offensiye when it was uttered, and the seorn with which I repelled it at the instant, time has only softened to contempt. Our flag waa never borne from the field. We had carried it in the face of defeat, with a knowledge that de- feat awaited it; but scarcely had the smoke of the battle passed away which proelaimod another victor, before the general voice ad- mitted that the field again was ouis; I have not seen a sagacious, l:eflt,efing man, who was cognizant of the events as they tratispiied at the time who does not aaj that, within two weeks dfter the eicition, our party wis in a mijority, and the nest elei-tion which occurred showed that we po'^ee'faed the State bt,jond controver^j How we h'i\e wielded that powei it !■> not for mo to lay I trust others miy see foibearance in our conduct— th it with a determi nation to insist upon oui conshfutional rights then ind now, theio is an unwavering desiie to maintain the {government anl to up hold the Democritic party We beheve now, as we ha\e inserted on formei oceisionsi that the best hope for the perpetuitj ot oui institutions depends upon the cocperition the hjimonj the zc dous action ot the Democratic paity We cling to that party fi jm conviction that its principles and its aims aie tho«e of truth and the country as we cling to the Union for the iulfillmcnt of the puiposes toi which it was formed WTienevei we shall be taught that the Deraociatic party IS recreant to its principles , whenever we shall learn that it can not be relied upon to maintain the great measuiLS which cocsti tute Its vitality, I, for one, shall be ready to leave it And so, when we declaie our tenacious adherence to the Union, it is the Union of the Constitution If the compact between the States is to be trampled into the dust it anarchy is to be substituted for the usuipation lud conaolidatioa which threatened the GoveinraLnt at an eailier peiiod il the Union is to become f jwerleas for the purposes lor which it was established, and we are vainly to appeal d by Google 190 I.IFR OF JJ![i'J'I.:i:SOX J>AVJS. to it for proteotion then sir conscious oi thi, rectitude of our coune the luatice of our cauic silf rolnnt yet humbly coDfid m^ly tntstiiig m the arm that u,uidel dod pintectcil our fatleia we look beyond the confines of the Union foi the miintentincc of our rights A hjhitti'il levereate and cherished ifiection toi the G-overnment will hind ui to it longei than our interei-ts would fcu„ge t or lequire hut he i'* t poor '.tudent of the woild a history who does aot undentand that cjmmunitiei it last must yield t) the dictates of their inteiests Thj,t the affection the mutual de sire for the mutual i,of d which existed amou^ our fathers nnv be weakened la BULceeding genoratious hy the denial of rij,ht jnd hostile dem mstr itioii until the ejiahly i^uiranteed, but not secured within the Union, may be sought foi without it must he evident to 0¥en a eireless ohsetver ot our race It h time to be up and doing Theie is yet time to iemo\e the causes of dissen sion and alienation which are uow distiacting ind have foi yeirs past divided the country If the Senator correctly described me as having, at a foimei period agjinit my own preferences and opinions acquiesce 1 in the decisun of my party, if when I had youth when physical vyor gd\e promise of many diys and the future waa painted in the oolcrs of hope I ciuld thus surrender mj own convictions my own piejudices and cooperate with my political friends lecorling to their views as to the best method of promoting the public ^ood now when the jeaia of my future can not be many and ex; en ence has sobered the hopeful tints of youth s gildinc; when n.p pioiohing the evening if life (he shadows ire reversed and the m iid turns retrospectively it is not to be sufpoied that I would ab ndon lightly or idly put on trial the pirt^ to whiih I hue atPidily adheied It la rather to be assumed that conseivit ■-m, which belongs to the timidity or ciutioa of mcreismg years wo Id le i me to cling to— to he supported bj lalher than to cist off the orp,anization with which I have been so lon^ cuanti-ted It I am d by Google REPLY TO SEKATOR DOUGLAS. 19J driven to consider the necessity of separating myself fvora those old and dear relations, of discarding the accustomed support, under circumstances such as I have described, might not my friends who difter from me paufse and inquire whether there is not somethin'' iovolved in it which calls for their careful ? I desire no divided flag for the Democr t p ty k t depreciate the power of the Senator, or tak f 1 m y h of that coniidencc ho feels in the large y wl 1 f 11 h standard. I prefer that his banner ahoul II I. 11 f H to feed the moth; hut if it unrestrainedly tl p t t t b unfurled, we who have not invited the cu fl t 1 k t f tl t 1 w w 11 pi t fl y h II d pi t 1 11 1 k th Atl t d w 1 m tl 1 f d wte thUw td h ktp th q t P fl 0 1 -[\ t 1 tl y I 1 t y Sf t f tl U d th I I t m y h I t by th t th y t t tl ly f 1 t wl h w t p wl h w f th d ty th D m y p a D t tl S t f 111 th t 1 h te f th t h i th t h p t j t bl t y 1 t t tl t y I t tl f It} It d [ t 1 1 y t St t wl h tl t 1 m t b jl a f D t pp t aj; n t th d m t wh h h 1 11 1 w tl t t 1 p t 1 If h tl y p tl D t J ty t days are numbered? We ask only for the Constitution. Wo ask of the Democracy only from time to time to declare, as current exigencies may indicate, what the Constitution was intended to secure and provide. Our flag hears no new device. Upon its folds our principles are written in living light; all proclaiming the con- stitutional Union, justice, equality, and fraternity of our ocean- hound domain, for a limitless future. d by Google :■ JEFFERSON DAVIS. CHAPTER VII. BLBOTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN— HI3T0KICAI, IMFORTAITCE THE OBJECTS AIJOID AT BY HISTORY AND BIOSKAPHY CUSSION OP eve: QUESTION THE FIABLE Bit QUESTION — WHAT THE FBDBEALIST SAYS — CHiBP- MADISON — OOEEOION NOT JUSTIFIED AT THE NORTH WAR EiaiiKKS OF JOHN QUINOY ADAMS OP GREELEY — aCCCESSFUL PBRTBRSION Of TRUTH BY THE NORTH- THE SOUTH AGGRESSIONS BY THE NOE THE BALANCE OP POWER PATIENCE OP —REVELATIONS OP THE OBJECTS < BUCHANAN — CONCILIATORY 0 TO AVERT IT — THE ORITTBNDBN J ADOPTION DAVIS WILLING TO ACCEPT IT IN I THE SOUTH — EBPUBLICAS SENATORS DECLINE A. THE CLARKE AJIENDJIENT — WHERE RESTS TI UNION ?— STATBJIBNTS OP MESSRS. C0UOLA3 AND COX SECESSION OP THE COirrON STATES — A LETTER PROM JEPFEHSON DAVIS TO R. B. EHBTT, JR. MR. DAVIs' FAREWELL TO THE SENATE HIS REASONS POR WTTHDEAWING RETURNS TO MISSISSIPPI MAJOR-GEN EH AL OF STATE FORCES — ORGANIZATION OF T A' 8 liad been foreseen, and, indeed, as was the inGvitable of the disruption of tbe Democratic party, Abra- d by Google ELECTION OK ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 193 ham Lincoln, the candidate of the Eepubhcan party, was, in November, 1860, elected President of the United States. This was the supreme and sufficient incitement to the adoption of the dreaded resort of disunion. As the occasion which finally- brought the South to the attitude of resistance, the event ac- quires vast historical importance. When it is conceded that Mr. Lincoln was elected in ac- cordance with the forms of the Constitution, having received a majority of electoral votes ; that the mere ceremony of elec- tion was attended by no unusual circumstances, we concede every possible ground upon which can be based an argument denying its ample justification of the course pursued by the South. Such an argument, however, leads to a wholly unten- able conclusion, and may be easily exposed in its hypocritical evasion of the real quastion. We are here required to note the distinction between caitse and occasion. As the final con- summation of tendencies, long indicating the result of dis- union, this event has an appropriate place in the recapitulation of those influences, and can he rightly estimated only in con- nection with their operation. Trite observations upon the influence of passion and preju- dice, over contemporary judgment, are not necessary to a due conception of the obstacles which, for the present, exclude candor from the discussion of the late movement for South- em independence. In the face of the disastrous overthrow of that movement, the wrecked hopes and fortunes of those who participated in it, discussion is chiefly serviceable, as it throws additional light upon the development of those eternal principles in whose ceaseless struggles men arc only temporary agents. History and biography are here most intimately blended; d by Google 194 LIFE OF JRFFKESON DAVIS. beginning from the same stand -point, they encounter common difficulties, and aim to explore the same general grounds of observation. So far as a verdict — from whatever tribunal, whether rendered at tlie bar of justice or in the award of pop- ular opinion, when the embers of recent strife are still fiercely glowing — can affect the dispassionate judgment of History, the Southern people can not be separated, either in fact or in sentiment, from Jefferson Davis. He was the illnstrious compatriot of six millions of freemen, who struck for nation- ality and independence, and lost— as did Greece and Poland before them ; or he and they were alike insurgents, equally guilty of the crime of treason. With an adroitness which does credit to the characteristic charlatanism of the North, an infinite variety of spetaal ques- tions and side issues have been interwoven with the narrative of the late war, for the obvious purpose of confounding the judgment of mankind regarding the great question which really constitutes the gravamen of the controversy. Conspic- uous among these efforts, from both audacity and plausibility, are appeals to the sympathies of the world, in consideration of the abolition of slavery, which it is well known was merely an incident, and not the avowed design of the war. Persistent in its introduction of the moral question of slav- ery, the North seeks to shield itself from the reproach justly visited upon its perpetration of an atrocious political crime, by an insolent intrusion of a false, claim to the championship of hunmnity. Whatever may be the decision of Time upon the merits of slavery, it is in vain for the North to seek escape from its responsibility for an institution, protected and sus- tained by a government which was the joint creation of South- ern and Northern hands. d by Google SECESSION NOT REVOEUTION. 195 The attempted dissolution of the Union by the South was a movement involving moral and political considerations, not unlike those incidental to revolutions in general, yet presenting certain peculiar characteristics, traceable to the inherent and distinctive features of the American political system. Those latter considerations constitute a vital part of its justification. The South did not appeal only to the inalienable right of rev- olution, which is the natural guarantee of resistance to wrong and oppression. Nor did the States, severally, as they as- sumed to sever their connection with the Union, announce a purpose of constitutional revolution, or adopt a course invit- ing or justifying violence. Mr. Davis and those who cooper- ated with him, neither by the acts of secession, nor the sub- sequent confederation of the States under a new government, could have committed treason against Mr. Lincoln, since they were not his subjects. Nor yet were they traitors to the Gov- ernment of the United States, since the States of which they were citizens had rescinded the grant of powers voluntarily made by them to that Government, and begun to exercise them in conjunction with other powers which they had with- held by express reservation. It is impossible to conceive a movement, contemplating such important political changes, more entirely unattended by dis- plays of violence, passion, and disorder. A simple assertion, with due solemnity, by each State, of its sovereignty — a herit- age which it had never surrendered, but which had been re- spected by innumerable forms of recognition in the history of the Union — and the exercise of those attributes of sover- eignty, which are too palpable to require that they shall be indicated, was the peaceable method resorted to of terminating a political alliance which had become injurious to the highest d by Google 196 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. interests of one of the parties. Could there have been a more becoming and digaified exercise of the vaunted right of self- government? It is that right to which America is so con- spicuously committed, and which has been such an inexhausti- ble theme for tlie tawdry rhetoric of Northern eloquence. Even in the insolence of its triumph, the North feels the necessity of at least a decent pretext for its destruction of the cardinal feature in the American system of government — the sovereignty of the States. With habitual want of candor, Northern writers pretend that the Constitution of the United States does not ailSrm the sovereignty of the States, and that, therefore, secession was treason against that Constitution to which they had subscribed; in other words, the created does not give authority to the creator — t, e., the Constitution, which the States created, does not accredit sovereignty to the States, and, therefore, the States are not sovereign. It is not pre- tended that the States were not, each of them, originally inde- pendent powers, since they were so recognized by Great Britain, in the plainest terms, at the termination of the first revolution. Nor is it asserted that the union of the States, under the title of United States, was the occasion of any surrender of their individual sovereignty, as it was then declared that "each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence." A conclusive demonstration of the retention of sovereignty by the States is seen in the entire failure of the Constitution, either by direct assertion or by implication, to claim its surrender to the Union. If the sovereignty of the States be conceded, the South stands justified as having exercised an unquestionable right. It was never formally denied, even at the North, until Mr. Webster, in his debate with Mr. Calhoun, affirmed the doc- d by Google A CHALLENGE KOT ACCEPTED. 197 trine of the supremacy of the Union, to which conclusion the Northern masses sprung with alacrity, as an available justifi- cation for compelling the submission of the South to the out- rages which they had- already commenced. Volumes of testimony have been adduced, proving the the- ory of State sovereignty to have been the overwhelmingly predominant belief among the statesmen most prominent in the establishment of the Union, and in shaping the policy of the Government in its earlier history. Argument proved an unavaiUng offiet to the stern decrees of the sword, and is quite unnecessary so long as the unanswerable logic of Cal- houn, Davis, and a score of Southern statesmen remains upon the national records — a perpetual challenge, as yet unaccepted, to the boasted intellect of the North, and a significant warn- ing of the final adjudication of the centuries. We shall in- trude no argument of our own in support of State sovereignty, upon which rests the vindication of the South and her leaders. Before us are the apposite and conclusive assumptions of men who have been the revered sources of political inspiration among Americans. The Federalist, that most powerful vindication of the Con- stitution, and earnest plea for its adoption l>y the States, assumes that it was a " compact," to which " the States, as distinct and independent sovereigns," were the parties. Yet this doctrine, the basis upon which rests the august handi- work of Madifon and Hamilton, the "architects of the Con- stitution," when applied by Davis and his compatriot, becomes treason! Such is the extremity to which deipotism, in its wretched plea of expediency, is driven; and the candid, en- lightened American of to-day realizes, in his country, a laud in which "trutii is treason, and history is rebelUon." d by Google 198 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVI9. Cliief-Jiistice Marshall, tlie great judicial luminary of Amer- ica, and an autliority not usually summoned to the support of doctrines hostile to the assumptions of Federal power, gave most erapliatic testimony to the propriety of the States' Rights view of tlie relations of State and Federal authority. lu the Vit^inia Convention which ratified the Constitution, he said: "The State governments did not derive their powers from the General Government. But caeh government derived its powers from the people, and each was to aet according to the powers given it. Would any gentleman deny this? He de- manded, if powers not given were retained by implication? Could any man say, no ? Could any man eay that this power was not retained by the States, since it was not given away?" The view so earnestly urged by Marshall, was not only avowed generally, but Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania in- sisted upon a written declaration, in the Constitution, of the principle that certain attributes of sovereignty, which they did not delegate to the Union, were retained by tlio States. Mr, Madison, whose great abiUties were taxed to the utmost to secure the ratification of the Constitution by Virginia, vig- orously and earnestly defended it against the allegation that it created a consolidated government. With the utmost diffi- culty, he secured a majority of ten votes, in the Virginia Con- vention, in favor of the Constitution, which his rival, Patrick Henry, denounced as destructive of State sovereignty. Defining the expression, "We, the people," Mr. Madison said : " The parties to it were the people, but not the people as composing one great society, but the people as composing 'thirteeffi soverdgnties.' " To quote Mr. Madison again: "If it were a consolidated government, the assent of a majority of the people would be sufficient to establish it. But it was to d by Google OPINIONS OF TtU! FATIIEIIS. 199 be binding on the people of a State only by their own separate consent." Under the intluence of tbese arguments, and othere of the same import from Mr. Madison, whom she thought, from his dose relations to the Constitution, high authority upon all questions i>ertaining to its character, Virginia finally acceded to the Union, It is especially noteworthy, however, that Virginia, when becoming a party to the Constitution, expressly afiirmcd, in the most solemn manner, the right to "resume" her grants of power to the Federal Government. In deference to the accumulated evidence upon this subject, came the unqualified statement, from eminent Northern au- thority,* that, " This right [of secession] must be considered an ingredient in the original composition of the Genera! Gov- ernment, which, though not expressed, was mutually under- stood." But whatever may be thought of the prescriptive and in- herent right of sovereignty, exercised by the South in with- drawing from the Union, as deducible from the peculiar nature of the American system, and as expounded by the founders of that system, there can be no question as to its entire accordance with the spirit of American polity. Au- thority is abundant in support of the assertion that, not even in the North, previous to the inception of the present revolu- "William Eawlp of Philadelphia an able lawjei and ponatitutional eipounler Mr Bug! an an in 1 11 liiatory of his own alministration thiiB mentions him The righl of aoccaion foutil advMaU'? afterwiris in men of di>!tin fin shed abilities and unquestioned patiut sm In IS"^ it was maintained hy Mr William Eawle of Ph ladelphia an em nent aid uniTPrsilly respected Umer Hia biographer sa>9 that m I7J1 hi, was appointed District Attorney uf the United States and the situation of Attjrney Generil was moie thai oice tendi,red to him ly \\ aohuintun lutaaolte dHdined fti dumeotic reasons d by Google 200 LIFE OF JEFPEESON DAVIS. tion, was the idea of a constrained connection with the Union entertained. From every source of Northern opinion has come indignant repudiation of a coerced association of communities, originally united by a common pledge of fealty to the right of self- go ver nm ent . Upon this subject Mr. John Qiiincy Adams spoke in lan- guage of characteristic fervor: "The indissoluble link of union between the people of the several States of tliis confed- erated nation is, after all, not in the right, but in the heart. If the day should ever come (may heaven avert it !) when the affections of the people of these States shall be alienated from each other — when the fraternal spirit shall give way to cold indifference, or collision of interest shall fester into hatred, the bands of political association will not long hold together par- ties no longer attracted by the magnetism of conciliated inter- ests and kindly sympathies; and far better will it be for the people of the disunited States to part in friendship from each other than to be held together by constraint." Even Mr. Lincoln, whose statesmanship is not likely to be commemorated for its profundity or scholarship, fully com- prehended the exaggerated reverence of the American mind for the "sacred right of self-government." Now that his homely phrases are dignified by the Northern masses with the sanctity of the utterances of Deity, assuredly there should be no apprehension that his opinions may not be deemed con- clusive. In 1848, Mr. Lincoln said: "Any people whatever have the right to abolish the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right." A brave affirmation was this of the doctrine of the Declara- tion of Independence, that "Governments derive their just d by Google OPINIOKS OP KORTIIERN MEN. 201 powers from the consent of the governed;" and one which would liave commanded the united applause of the North, tliun and now, had the application concerned Hungary, Po- land, Greece, or Mexico. But, with reference to the South, there was a most important modification of this admirable principle of equity and humanity. When asked, " Why not let the South go?" Abraham Lincoln, ike President, in 1861, said: "Let the South go! Where, thm, shall we get our rev- enue?" And the united North reechoed: "Let (he South go! Where, then, shall we look for the bounties and monopolies wMeh have so enriched us at the expense of t/iose improvident, unsus- pecting Southerners f Where skuil we find again such paiicnt victims of spoliation?" Mr. Horace Greeley frequently and emphatically, previous to the war, affirmed the right of changing its political associ- ation asserted by the South. Three days after the election of Mr. Lincoln, in November, 1860, his paper, the New York Tribune, said : " If the Cotton States shall become satisfied that they can do better out of the Union than in it, we insist on letting them go in peace. We must ever resist the right of any State to remain in the Union, and nul- lify or defy the laws thereof. To withdraw from tM Union is quite another matter ; and whenever any considerable section of our Union skaM deliberately/ resolve to go out, we shall resist all eoerdve measures designed to keep it in. We hope never to live in a Republic whereof one section is pinned to another by bayonets." On the 17th of December, 1860, the Tribune said: " If it [the Declaration of Independence] justifies the secession of three millions of colonists in 1776, we do not see why it would not justify the secession of five millions of Southerners from the Federal Union in 1861." d by Google 202 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. Such are a few illustrations, to which might be added innu- merable quotations, of the same import, from the most promi- nent sources of Northern opinion. Never has there been a question so capable of positive solution and easy comprehen- sion, when subjected to the test of candid investigation, and never so successful a purpose to exclude the illumination of facts by persistent and ingenious misrepresentation. The North has reason for its extravagant exultation at the skill and audacity with which the brazen front of hypocrisy, for a time, at least, has snceessfully sustained, in the name of hu- manity and liberty, the most monstrous imposition and trans- parent counterfeit of virtue ever designed upon an intelligent age. To the triumphant historical vindication of the South, there remains only the essential condition of a clear and trutliftil statement of the provocations which impelled her to adopt that long-deferred remedy, which is the last reftige of a people whose liberties are imperiled. Secession, however strong in its prescriptive or implied justification as a principle, was not to be undertaken from caprice, or trivial causes of dissatis- iaction. Abuses, numerous, serious, and consecutive, were required before disunion became either desirable or acceptable to the South. The native conservatism of the Southern character renders it peculiarly averse to agitation ; to this were added soeial features, the safety of which would be greatly imper- iled by civil war, and thus a train of influences tended to make Southern soil, of all others, the least favorable to the growth of revolutionary principles. In the development of this volume, we have glanced at the progress of those sectional differences, at various periods pre- cipitated by the insolent aggressions of Abolitionism, which d by Google KOEXHERN AGGRESSION. 203 Steadily depreciated the value of the Union in Southern esti- mation. Continued aggressions by her enemies; their Punic faith, illustrated in a aeries of violated pledges, and habitual disregard of the conditions of the covenant which bound South and North together; petty outrages, taunts and insults, ema- nating from every possible source of public expression at the North, for many years had banished fraternal feeling and precluded those interchanges of comity between the sections which were the indispensable requisites to national harmony. It is undeniable, that for years previous to secession, the sen- timental attachment to the Union, which was the distinctive characteristic of Southern patriotism — unlike the coarse, utili- tarian estimate of the Union as a souree of pecuniary profit, which constituted its value to the North — had been greatly impaired. Since 1850, and to a considerable extent during the preceding decade, the most sagacious statesmen of the South contemplated disunion as an event almost inevitable, unless averted by a contingency of very improbable occurrence. There must be an awakening by the North to a more just appreciation of its constitutional and patriotic obligations, or an unmanly submission by the South, to a condition of de- grading inferiority, in a government to whose construction, prosperity, and distinction, she had contributed more than a proportionate share of influence. Chief among the considerations which admonished the South of the perils which environed her situation in the Union, was the total destruction of that sectional balance, which had been wisely adjusted by its founders, as the safeguard of the weaker against the stronger influence. Having in mind the wise say- ing of Aristotle, that " the weak always desire what is equal and just, but the powerful pay no regard to it," the states- d by Google 204 LIFE men of 1787 designedly shaped the chart of government with a view to the preservation of equality. The struggle between the weaker element, naturally contending in behalf of the equiUbrium, and the stronger striving for its ovei-throw, was, at an early period, distinctly foresliadowed. With char- acteristic prevision, Alexander Hamilton, probably the fore- most statesman of his day, foretold the natai-e of this contest over the principle of equality. Said that sagacious publicist : "The truth is, it is a contest for power, not for liberty." This contest, indeed, so long waged, was, many years since, decided overwhelmingly against the South. In 1850, the Northern majority in the House of Hepresentatives, the pop- ular branch of the government, had increased from a majority, in 1790, of five votes, to fifty-four. Years befoi-e, the legis- lation of Congress assumed that sectional bias, which was un- deviatingly adhered to for the purpose, and with ample suc- cess, of the material depression of the South. Under the baleful influences of hostile legislation, of tarifEs aimed directly at her commercial prosperity, of bounties for fostering multi- farious Northern interests, her position in the Union was help- less and deplorable in the extreme. Yet, like a rock-bound Prometheus, with the insidious elements of destruction gnaw- ing at her vitals, the South suffered herself to be chained by an influence of sentiment, of association, and reminiscence to the Union, fully conscious of the growing rapacity of her despoilor and of her own hopeless decline. Her infatuation was indeed marvelous, in trusting to the dawning of justice and gener- osity in a fierce, vindictive, and remorseless sectional majority. The alarming portents of ultimately complete material pros^. tration, to be consummated by these perversions of the pur- poses of the Union, were terribly significant, in view of the d by Google A CLEAR STATEMENT OF THE CONTEOVEESY. 205 venom which actuated the enemies of the South. The sec- tional balance was hopelessly gone; Southern material pros- perity destroyed by sectional legislation; not a check, originally provided by the Constitution for tlie protection of the weaker section, but had been virtually obiiterated; Northern perfidy illustrated in the violation of every compact which, in opera- tion, proved favorable to the Soutli, while the latter was held to a rigid fidelity in all agreements favorable to her enemies ; the nullification, by the legislatures of half the Northern States, of Federal laws for the protection of Southern property, are a few of those grievances which presented to the South the hard and inexorable alternative of resistance, or abject submission to endless insult and outrage. A Southern Senator,* announcing the secession of his State, and his own consequent withdrawal from the Senate, stated the question in a form, which even then had the authority of history. "Not a decade, nor scarce a lustrum, has elapsed (since Ala- bama became a State) that has not beea strongly marked by proofs of the growth and power of that antislavery spirit of the Northern people, which seeks ihe overthrow of that domestic in- stitution of the South, which ia not only the chief source of her prosperity, but the very basis of her social order and State polity. It is to-day the master-spirit of the Northern Slates, and had before the secession of Alabama, of Mississippi, of Florida, or of South Carohna, severed most of the bonds of the Union. It de- nied us Christian communion, because it could not endure what it calls the moral leprosy of slave-holding ; it refused ua permis- sion to sojourn, or even to pass through the North with our property; it claimiid freedom for the slave, if brought by hia «Hon. C. C, Clay, of Alabama. d by Google •^"'* 1-IFE OF JEFFERSON .DAVIS. master into a Northern Stat«; it violated the Constitution, and treaties, and lavfs of Congress, hecause designed to protect that property; it refused ua any share of lands acquired mainiy by onr diplomacy, and blood, and treasure; it refused our property any Bbelter or security beneath the iag of a common government' it lobbed us of our property, and refused to restore it; it refused to deliver enmmils against our 1 wa who fled to the North mith our property or our bio id upon their hauls it threatened us by solemn legislative afts with loaominious puDiahinunt if we pur sued jur property mto a Noithern =ltate it murdeied Southcin meu when seeking the reco\ery of their propcity on Noithein soil it invided the holders ot bouthern States poi=onod thiir wells burnt their dwellings and murdered their p^cple it de nounced us ly delibeiate resoUea of populai meetings of paity conventions and of iei(,ous and even le^ alative assembi e* as habitual violators of tho Uwa of Uod and the rights of humanity It eserted a!l tjie moral and phjsical agencies that hum n in^enu ity can deu^e or diabolical mail o can emj loy to heij odium and infamy ujoi us and to make us a by woid of h ^ing and of scorn throughout the iivihzed world There was no room for uncertainty as to the significance of the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency, in 1860, by a party exclusively sectional in organization, and upon a platform, which virtually declared the Union, as then consti- tuted, in opposition to justice, humanity, and civilization. The real danger to the South, involved in this election, was that it was a sectional triumph— a victory of North over South, in a contest where the South risked every thing, the North nothing. From time iramemoria! sincere patriots of both sections had deprecated the formation of sectional par- ties, organized upon geographical interests, or upon ideas con- fined to limited portions of the Union. Washington, in his d by Google SIGNIFICANCE OF LINCOLN'S ELECTION. 207 ferewell injuDction, admonished his countrynicn of the de- plomble results which must follow the presentation of such issues. The Chicago platform was more than a menace to the South; it was a defiance of law, a declaration of war upon the Constitution. The election of Lincoln was both a legal and moral severance of the bonds of Union. While he received tlie united vote of the North, save New Jersey, he did not receive one electoral vote from the South. His shaping of his administration was consistent with the character of the party which elected him. All his constitutional advisers were North- ern men or Southern Abolitionists; social outlaws in their own section, in consequence of their notorious personal depravity, and infidelity to their immediate fellow-citizens. Of like char- acter were the subordinate appointments of the Federal Gov- ernment in Southern communities. Nor was there reason to doubt the policy of the Govern- ment under its new management. Mr. Lincoln had been suf- ficiently communicative of his own bitter hostility to Southern institutions. In fact, with much show of justice, his admirers ckimed for him the original suggestion of the idea of an "irre- pressible conflict," afterwards so elaborately pronounced by "William H. Seward. Public announcements, from prominent speakers of the successful party, amply revealed the feast to which the South was invited. Wendell Phillips, the most able, eloquent, and sagacious of the original Abolitionists, thus pointedly defined the situation : " No man has a right to be surprised at this state of things. It is just what we have at- tempted to bring about. It is the first sectional party ever organized in this country. It does not know its own face, and calls itself national; but it is not national — it is sectional. d by Google 20a LIFE OF JEFFERSON DATI8. The Republican party is a party of the North pledged against the South." Such was the complexion to which political affairs were brought by the election of Abraham Liiicohi. There remained hardly a hope, even for future security or domestic tranquillity to the South, except in withdrawal from an association, in which she had become an inferior and an outcast — an object of op- pression, outrage, and contumely. From a relentless Abolition majority she could expect no favors ; and the Northern Democ- racy, so long her ally, for common purposes of party, had cowered before the storm of fanaticism, and repudiated tlie first demand made upon its fidelity to principle. Congress assembled on the first Monday of December, 1860, a few weeks subsequent to the Presidential election. Never had that body met under circumstances of such gravity. Uni- versal foreboding of peril to the nation was mingled with hope of such action, as would avert the impending calamities of dis- union and civil war. There were few indications, at the open- ing of the session, of conciliatory sentiments ; from the repre- sentatives of both sections came open defiance, and Northern members of both houses were more than ever hold in the utter- ance of insult and menace. Before the opening of the session, President Buchanan received from Mr. Davis the most satis- factory assurances of his cociperation with the administration in a pacific policy, having for its object the settlement of the national difficulties upon terms promotive of the peace of the country, and assuring the security of the South.* To such a * It is not fo be understood that Mr. Davis approved Mr. Buchanan's pol- icy in the winter of 1861. The measage of the President disappointed Uie South, and was offensive to many of his most attached supporters, in con- eequenoe of its denial of tie right of secession. Denying the right of d by Google PATRIOl'lC COURSE OP JIH. DAVIS. 209 settlement the efForta of Mr. Davis were addressed so long as thei-e was the slightest ground for the -indulgence of hope. Tills session of Congress, the last wliieh was held previous to the commencement of civil war, is chieBy interesting as the historical record of those patriotic efforts which were made to save the Union, and as fornishing incontestible proof of the guilt of those who, by their persistent refusal of all concilia- tory propositions, are justly responsible for the calamities which were to befall the country. Happily for the reputation of Mr. Davis, the proof is authentic and conclusive in his favor upon these important questions. There is no portion of his career in which statesmanship, patriotism, and a noble appreciation of the claims of humanity shine forth more conspicuously. So overwhelming is the evidence that, in these last days of the Union, he was false to none of these high considerations, that the most mendacious assailants of himself and the cause he lately represented have not yet ventured to call it in question.. A disposition is frequently evinced to plead for him immu- nity from the responsibility of his position, as the leader of the Confederate movement, upon the score of his consistent Union- ism, manifested in the prevailing conservatism of his course as a politician. He needs no such palliation. His devotion to the Union of the American fathers was as unquestionable as was that of Washington. His patriotism was illustrated by every mode of exemplification in the service of country. To secession, Mr. Buchanan yet denied, also, the power of coercing the States, but Bubseciuently lent himself to the latter policy. Mr. Davis freely tes- tified his disappointment at certain positions taken in the Message, and criticised them with emphasis, but great courtesy. Mr. Buchanan indi- cates the special message of Januaiy, 1S61, as the occasion of the termi- nation of all friendly relations between himself and those whom he terms d by Google 210 LIFE OF JKFPKBSON DAVIS. substantiate his attachment to that association of States, de- signed by the fiithera, stiblime in its objects of mutual fidelity, generous sympathies, justice, aiid equality, no elaborate state- ment is required, nor could formal vindication strengthen its defenses.* He never arrayed himself against such a Union, but, abhorring that perverted instrument of sectional aggres- sion, ■which the Government had become, he did accompany and lead his fellow-citizens in their exercise of the highest privilege of freemen. He was always prepared to follow the principles of States' Eights to their Ic^eal consequencci, and was yet consistent in his attachment to the Union. Thus he was a firm believer in the absolute sovereignty of the States, and of the enjoyment, by the States, of all the attributes of sovereignty, including, necessarily, the right of secession. He had never urged the expediency of secession, though, upon repeated occasions, he had foreshadowed its probable necessity in the future, as the only remedy remaining to the South in certain contingencies, In the Senate, in 1850, he thus alluded to the possibility of a successful organization of a sectional party: "The danger is one of our own times, and it is that sectional division of the people which has created the necessity of looking to the ques- tion of the balance of power, and which carries with it, when disturbed, the danger of disunion." In 1859, again, he proclaimed, in unequivocal terms, his course in the event of the success of a party indorsing the Eoehester pronunciamento of Mr. Seward. Yet his course, *It is a notable fact that, years ago, the strong and BTOwed attachment of Mr. Davis for the Union, was habitually sneered at by some Southern men, who are now seeking tfl gratify their lust for place by "crooking the pregnant hinges of the knee," to those who persecute him and hia countrjmen. rdb, Google SEEKS TO AVERT WAR. 211 subsequent to the election of Mr. Lincoln, was directed entirely in the interest of moderation. Having little hope of conces- sion from the enemies of the South, in tiie moment of their overwhelming victory, he yet anxiously, earnestly entered that last struggle for the Constitution, hefore it passed into the keeping of iconoclastB, who were pledged to its destruction. His zeal in behalf of pacification was actuated by consider- ations of humanity, no less ennobling than his impulse of disinterested patriotism. Regarding a long and bloody war as the certain result of dissolution, he anxiously sought to avert that calamitous result, and stood pledged to the accept- ance of any basis of settlement which should guarantee the safety and honor of the South. At no time, however, did he advocate submission. His language in the Senate is explicit. Speaking of the secession of Mississippi, he said: "1, how- ever, may be permitted to say, that I do think she has justi- fiable cause, and I approve of her act. I conferred with her people before that act was taken, counseled them then that, if the state of things which they apprehended should exist when the convention met, they should take the action which they have now adopted." During the session, numerous efforts at compromise were made, in every instance emanating from Southern Represent- atives or Northern Democrats, the dominant party of the North declining all tenders of pacification, and offering no terms of conciliation in return. It is unnecessary to trace the progress of these abortive efforts, which, in the main, received the support of feeble minorities, and had, from their inception, no prospect of adoption. There was one proposition, and probably only one, which embodied a competent basis of settlement, and was entitled to d by Google 212 LIFE Of JKFFi'IitSOJJ" DAVIS. fe,vor. This was calieri the " Crittenden Compromise," and originated with the venerable Kentucky Senator, by whose name it is dcaignated. For a time it seemed that the demon- strations of popular sentiment in its iavor, especially the well- ascertained readiness of a large majority of the Southern people to accept it, and its exceedingly practical nature, as a final settlement of the slavery question, would eventually secure its adoption by Congress, The result was a disappointment of this patriotic expectation, and a conclusive demonstratiou of the purpose of the Eepublican party to consent to no settle- ment which the South could accept. An examination of the Crittenden proposition will reveal a most striking illustration of the ever-present spirit of aoeom- modation, in matters affecting the safety of the Union, which, even in its last hours, was characteristic of the leaders and people of the South, and of the narrow, selfish, and exacting sectionalism of the North, In reality, it was little short of a surrender, in its ample concessions, to the encroachments of Abolitionism. The resolutions introduced by Mr. Crittenden, in the Sen- ate, on the 18th of December, 1860, contemplated amendments to the Constitution having the following objects: The prohib- ition of slavery in all Territories north of the old Missouri Compromise line, and providing protection for it south of that line; a denial of the power of Congress to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, or in ports, arsenels, dock-yards, or wherever else the Federal Government exercised jurisdiction; remuneration to owners of escaped slaves by communities in which the Federal laws, providing rendition of slaves, might ■ be violently obstructed. Such were the material features of the "Crittenden Compromise." d by Google THE CE1T1'EN1>EN COMPROMISE. 213 It will be seen at a glance how absurd was the misnomer of "compromise" applied to so one-sided a settlement. The South was required, by its provisions, to abandon the sacred right of protection to her property, guaranteed by the Consti- tution and unequivocally re-affirmed by the highest judicial tribunal in the land. The'Supremc Court, in the Dred Scott case, had already decided the right to take slaves into all the Territories, while the Crittenden proposition prohibited it en- tirely in the major portion of the common Territory, and merely tolerated it in the residue. The Constitution, as ex- pounded by the Supreme Court, guaranteed the right of intro- duction and protection of slavery in all the Territories, in whatever latitude, as the common property of the States. The Critt«nden amendment proposed to confine this right to Ter- ritory south of 36° 30', prohibiting, in the meanwhile, slavery forever north of that line, and in regions where its legal exist- ence had been emphatically affirmed by that august tribunal, the Supreme Court. If adopted, it would have yielded every thing to Abolition rapacity, save a mere abstraction. Of all the vast territory yet remaining to be hereafter divided into States, only in New Mexico did it propose even to tolerate slavery, and in that locality the laws of nature precluded its permanent establishment. A few days after its introdution in the Senate, the Critten- den amendment was proposed by its author to a speeiai com- mittee of thu^;een, created on motion of Senator Powell, of Kentucky, for the consideration of all questions pertaining to the pending national difficulties. This committee was com- posed of the most eminent and influential Senators, embracing five leading ^Republicans, five Southern Senators, and Messrs. Bright, Bigler, and Bouglas, on behalf of the Northern De- d by Google 214 LIFE OP JEFFEBSON DAVIS. moeracy. Mr. Davis, originally appointed, at first declined to serve, but finally consented, in compliance with the urgent requests of other Senators. At the first meeting of the com- mittee, 21st December, it was " resolved that no proposition shall be reported as adopted, unless sustained by a majority of each of the classes of the committee ; Senators of the Repub- lican party to constitute one class, and Senators of the other parties to constitute the other class," This resolution was necessary, in consequence of the obvious futility of any settlement which did not meet the approval of a majority of the Eepublican Senators. In this Committee the Crittenden proposition was defeated. Not one of the Ee- publican Senators voted for it, and Messrs. Davis and Toomba likewise voted against it when it was ascertained that it would not receive the sanction of a majority of the Republican Sen- ators. Despite its unfairness as a measure of settlement, and its great injustice to the South, Mr, Davis would have accepted it, as would a large majority of Southern Senators, as a final- ity, if the Republican Senators had tendered it. This, how- ever, the latter were determined not to do, nor did a single Republican Senator, at any time during the session, express even a desire that any action, conciliatory to the South, should be adopted.* Insolent, dictatorial, and defiant, they pro- claimed their purpose, at all hazards, to assert the authority of the Government, and their acts clearly indicated their stern * Mr. Crittenden, whose supreme devotion to the Union, can not be called in question, since he continued to cling to the shadow long after the substance had departed, and in the midst of actual war continued to hope for a final pacific settlement, was greatly incensed at the unpatriotic course of the Bflpublican Senators. His gray hairs, his eloquence, hia d by Google THE CLARKE AMENDMENT. 215 purpose to refuse every proposition contemplating concession or comppomise. In substitution of the Crittenden adjustment, they voted solidly for the amendment of Senator Clarke, of New Hampshire, which denied the necessity of amendments to the Constitution, which ought to be obeyed rather than amended, and, declared that the remedy for present difficulties was to be sought in a stern enforcement of the laws, rather than in assurances to peculiar ideas and guarantees to peculiar interests. This palpable defiance, and emphatic avowal of a purpose to concede nothing to Southern demands, was in- dorsed by the action of Eiepublican caucusses of both houses of Congress, by resolutions of State Legislatures, and by tenders of men and means to compel the submission of the South, The entire Eepublican party were clearly committed to the purpose, avowed by Mr, Salmon P, Chase, in a letter from the Poaee Congress, to Portsmouth, Ohio, to "use the power whUc they had it, and prevent a settlement." * On the 31st December, 1860, the Committee of Thirteen reported to the Senate their inabihty to "agree upon any general plan of adjustment," and thus, with the arrival of the new year, had vanished the last hope of preserving the peace of the country. The failure of the Crittenden proposition was decisive of the question of pacification ; no other plan of ad- justment, that was presented, having either ita merits or its practical features. Southern resistance came none too soon for Northern power, unquestioned Unionism, were all unavailing. He was frequently hotly dennnciatory, of what, equally with Mr. Davis, ho regarded a purpose to prevent any adjustment which could have a pacifying effect upon the country. * Statement of Hon, S. S, Cos. d by Google ^Ib LIFE OF JEFFEKSON DAVIS. hate, and lust, but far too late for the precious goal of inde- pendence. Delay had been fatal, and the golden opportunity long since lost. But there was still time to emulate the glorious examples of the past. "With marvelous calmness and dauntless intrepiditj-, a heroic race prepared an exhibition of noble devotion and willing sacrifice, the contemplation of which revives the memories of Therniopylaa. Comparatively of little moment, now, is the question, whether the acceptance of this basis of adjustment by the South would have been consistent with discretion. In the end the result, in all likelihood, would have heon the same. Had a settlement been reached in 1861, Southern liberties must eventually have perished, through the influences of cor- ruption and the demoralization engendered by continued sub- mission to wrong, no less effectually than by their overthrow in that gallant struggle of arms, which terminated with such fatal results. But there still remains the question of respon- sibility for those horrors of civil strife, which the failure of the Crittenden amendment soon precipitated upon the countiy. Those crimson spots which stain the subsequent history of the Ecpublie, are traceable to no parricidal hand raised by the South. No historical question has received more satisfactory decision tlian this; and the South is acquitted even by the te,stimony of her enemies. It is unnecessary to give the evi- dence of Southern men, when there is such ample testimony fix)m those who deprecated and condemned the subsequent course of the South. Senator Douglas, on the 3d Januaiy, 1861, only three days after the report of the Committee of Thirteen had been sub- mitted, and within hearing of its members, thus expressed himself in the course of an address to the Senate : d by Google STATEMKNT OP SENATOR DOUGLAS. 217 "If you of tliQ Republican side are uot williug to accept this [a proposition of his owa] nor the proposition of the Senator from Kentucky [Mr, Crittenden,] pray tell us what are you willing to do? I address the inquiry to the Eepwblicans alone, for the reason, that in the Committee of Thirteen, a few days ago, every member from the South, including those from the Cotton Statea [Messrs. Toombs and Davis,] expressed their readiness to accept the proposition of my venerable friend from Kentucky [Mr. Crit- tenden] as a final settlement of the controversy, if tendered and sustained by the Republican members. Hence, the sole responsi- bility of our disagreement, and the only difficulty in the way of an amicable adjustment, is with the Republican party." Again, on the 2d March, 1861, Mr. Douglas re-affirmed this important stat€ment. Said he: "The Senator has said that if the Crittenden proposition could have been passed early in the session, it would have saved all the States except South Carolina. I firmly believe it would. While the Crittenden proposition was not in accordance with my cherished views, I avowed my readiness and eagerness to accept it, in order to save the Union, if we could unite upon it. No man has labored harder than I have to get it passed. I can confirm the Senator's declaration that Senator Davis himself, when on the Committee of Thirteen, was ready at all times to compromise on the Crittenden proposition. I will go further, and say that Mr. Toombs was also ready to do so." Hon. 8, S. Cox, for several years an able and eloquent member of Congress from Ohio, has made a most interesting statement upon this subject: The vote on the Crittenden proposition was well defined, but is not 30 well understood. From the frequency of inquiries since the war as to this latter vote, the people were eager to know upon d by Google 218 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. whom to fix the responsibility of its failure. It may as well he stated that all other propositions, whether of the Peace Convention or the Border State project, or the measures of the committees, were comparatively of no moment; for the Crittenden proposition was the only one which could have arrested the struggle. It would have received a larger vote than any other. It would have had more effect in moderating Southern excitement. Even Davis, Toombs, and others of the Gulf States, would have accepted it. I have talked with Mr, Crittenden frecjuently on this point. Not only has lie confirmed the public declarations of Douglas and Pugh, and the speech of Toombs himself, to this effect, but he said it was so understood ia committee. At one time, while the committee was in session, he said ; " Mr. Toombs, will this compromise, aa a remedy for all wrongs and apprehensions, be acceptable to you?" Mr. Toombs, with some profanity, replied: "Not by a good deal; but my State will accept it, and I will follow my State to ." And he did. I will not open the question whether it was wise then to offer lodations. It may not he profitable now to ask whether the 3 of young men whose bodies are maimed, or whose bones 5 under the sod of the South, and the heavy load of public debt under which we sweat and toil, have their compensation in black liberty. Nor will I discuss whether the blacks have been bettered by their precipitate freedom, passing, as so many have, from slavery, through starvation and suffering, to death. There is no comfort in the reflection that the negroes will be exterminated with the extermination of slavery. The real point is, could not this Union have been made permanent by timely settlement, instead of cemented by fraternal blood and military rule? By an equitable partition of the territory this was possible. We had then 1,200,000, square miles. The Crittenden proposition would have given the North 900,000 of these square miles, and applied the Chicago doc- trines to that quantity. It would have left the remaining fourth d by Google STATEMENT OF MR. COX. 219 substantially to be oai-red out as free or slave States, at the option of the people when the States were admitted. This proposition the radicals denounced. It has been stated, to rid the Republicans of the odium of not averting the war when that was possible, that the Northern members tendered to the Southern the Crittenden compromise, which the South rejected. This is untrue. It was tendered by Southern Senators and Northern Democrats to the Eepublieans. It was voted upon bnt once in the House, when it received eighty votes against one hundred and thirteen. These eighty votes were exclusively Democrats and Southern Americans, like G-ilnier, Vance, and others. Mr. Briggs, of New York, was the only one not a Democrat who voted for it. He had been an old Whig, and never a Republican. The Republican roll, begin- ning with Adams and ending with Woodruff, was a unit against it. Intermingled with thorn was one Southern eztremist (General Hindman) who desired no settlement. There were many Southern men who did not vote, believing that unless the Republicans, who were just acceding to power, favored it, its adoption would be a The plan adopted by the Republican Senators to defeat it was by amendment and postponement. On the 14th and 15th of Janu- ary tliey east all their votes against its being taken up ; and on the 16th, when it came up, Mr. Clark, of New Hampshire, moved to strike it out, and insert aomothing which he knew would neither be successful nor acceptable. The vote on Clark's amendment was 25 to 23; every "aye" being a Republican, and every "no," except Kennedy and Crittenden (Americans), being Democrats. When this result was announced universal gloom prevailed. The people favored this compromise. Petitions by thousands of citizens were showered upon Congress for its passage. Had it received a majority only, they would have rallied and sustained e who desired peace and union. One more earnest appeal v made to the Republicans. General Cameron answered it by moving Hosted by Google "W^hen tie struggle was at its Iieij,ht in Oeorj,ia, between Roliei fc Toombs for secession, and A. H. Stephens against it, had those men in the Committee of Thirteen, who are now so blameless in their own estimation, given us their votes, or even three of them, Stephens would have defeated Toombs, and secession would have been prostrated. I heard Mr. Toombs say to Mr, Douglas that the result in Georgia was staked on the action of the Committee of Thirteen. If it aecepted the Crittenden proposition, Stephens would defeat him; if not, he would carry the State out by 40,000 majority. The three votes ftom the Republican side would have carried it at any time; hut union and peace in the balance against the Chicago platform were sure to be found wanting." d by Google SOUTH CAROUNA SECEDES. 221 If Other testimony were wanting, I would ask a suspension of judgment until those facts, better known to Southern mon, trans- pire. The intercourse about to bo reestablished between the sections wiil cumulate the proof It will also bring to the light many facta showing that, while President Buchanan was working for the Peace Conference, while Virginia had been gained to our Bide with her ablest men, there were even then in the Cabinet those who not only encouraged revolt, but foiled by letter and speech the efforts of the Unionibts at Washington and Eichmond. These letters and acts are referred to ia the recent speech of General Blair. They will be, and should bo brought into the sunshine, if only to vindicate the true Union men of that dark hour and to condemn those who have since made so much prelension with so much zealotry, coupled with unexampled cruelty and tyranny. In the liftht of subsequent events that policy was developed. It was the destruction of slavery at the peril of war and disunion; or, as Senator Douglas expressed it, "a disruptioa of the Union, believing it would draw after it, as an inevitable consequence, eivU war, servile insurrections, and finally the utter es termination of slavery in all the Southern States." While these fruitless eEForts at compromise were in progress at Waahingtoii, public sentiment in the South, especially in the Cotton States, was rapidly reaching a point of exasperation, which refused to brook longer delay in the vain hope of justice from the exultant and unyielding North. In several of the States, so excited was popular feeling, that within a few weeks what was originally merely a purpose of resistance, intensified into a determination of absolute national independence and permanent separation. South Carolina, on the 20th December, 1860, adopted her ordinance of secession, and thus bravely gave the example, which other States speedily followed. The work of secession, so thoroughly started by the opening d by Google 222 LIFE OF JEFFFEBON DAVIS. of the new year, was not accomplished without a severe struggle in several of the Cotton States, in which contest, those who advocated unconditional separation were greatly assisted by the defiant position of the Republican party. The more sagacious Southern leaders foresaw the inevitable &ilui-e of the movement of separation, unless it should be sustained by an extensive cooperation among the Southern States. To secure the united action of the Cotton States, at least, was essential to give the movement strength and dignity. Mr. Davis, who advocated secession only in the event of the failure to obtain reasonable guarantees, and had never proposed to abandon the Union without an effort to save it, was a most earnest and influential advocate of the policy of cooperation. Of great historical importance is the fact, that the counsels of himself and those who acted with him, were adopted in pref- eience to i more ba'5t> policy, which, however ample the pro^ocT,ti n to immediate action, would have deprived the South of the potent justification of having forborne until "enduiance ceased to be i \iitue" In a letter wiitten i few di}s after the election of Mr. Lincoln, he thus expressed his views: Wasres Coustt, Mtsa,, Nov, 10, 1860. Hon. R. B. Bhbtt, Jr. — Dear Sir: I had the honor to receive, last night, yours of the 27th ult., and hasten to reply to the in- quiries propounded. Reports of the election leave little doubt that the event yon auticipated has occurred, that electors have been chosen, securing the election of Lincoln, and I will answer on that supposition. My home is so isolated that I have had no intercourse with those who might have aided me in fcrniing an opinion as to the effect produced on the mind of our people hy the result of the d by Google LETTER TO R. B. nilETT, 223 , and the impressions which I communjcate are i upon antecedent expressions. 1. I douht not that the G-oyernor of Mississippi has convoked the Legislature to assemble within the present month, to decide upon the course which the State should adopt in the present emer- gency. Whether the Legislature will direct the call of a conven- tion of the State, or appoint delegates to a convention of such Southern States as may be willing to consult together for the adoption of a Southern plan of action, is doubtful, 2. If a convention of the State were assembled, the proposition to secede from the Union, independently of support from neigh- boring States, would probably fail. 3. If South Carolina should first secede, and she alone should take such action, the position of Mississippi would not probably be changed by that fact. A powerful obstacle to the separate action of Mississippi is the want of a port; from which follows the consequence that her trade, being still conducted through the ports of the Union, her revenue would be diverted from her own support to that of a foreign government; and being geographi- cally unconnected with South Carolina, an alliance with her would not vary that state of the case. [5'm.] 4. The propriety of separate secession by South Carolina de- pends so much upon collateral questions that I find it difficult to respond to your last inquiry, for the want of knowledge which would enable me to estimate the value of the elements involved in the issue, though exterior to your Stato. Georgia is necessary to connect you with Alabama, and thus to make efiectual the co- operation of Mississippi. If Georgia would be lost by immediate action, but eould be gained by delay, it seems clear to me that you should wait. If the secession of South Carolina should be followed by an attempt to coerce her back into the Union, that act of usurpation, folly, and wickedness would enlist every true South- ern man for her defense. If it were attempted to blockade her d by Google 224 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. ports and destroy her trade, a like result would be produced, and the commercia] world would probably be added to her allies. It is probable that neither of thobe measures would be adopted by any administration, but that Federal ships would he sent to col- lect the duties on imports outside of the bar; that the commer- cial nations would feel little interest in that; and the Southern St t w Id h I ttl F w t t t t Th pi t St t 1 mm t t f h m t I th t th 1 t f th p te t f tl t t t t U ted th y w 11 h mpl p w t th w p t t d th 1 ts w 11 m k f tl m 11 f 11 m m 1 dm f t p w Th w St t h It P I 1 t 1 w II f 1 w 11 m th th wh h th If th N tl ! t th h dy p 1 1 but t t t 1 tl p 1 T f St. t d fi lly 11 th pi nt g mm n t m t h th m 1 Vy } h f hash f f h g t h gth &I I t oopei b/ k 2 f p p I d } p } y d I t t ike na ft! (fi If =! th 0 1 h Id It d bf tit pt 1 bt dtog tl gP d Al b m d L th IT d w tl t y to PI thywUfllwh tl jp t m t b dt wt tlthG mthp dthtl hd dmnh b fml dtthtj d ff p fthG IG mntfrnth df which it was established. I have written with the freedom and carelessness of private correspondence, and regret that I could not give more precise information. Very respectfully, yours, etc., JEFFEK80N DAVIS. Mr. Davis remained in tKe Senate, a friend of peace, and, d by Google ) THE SENATE. until the last moment, laboring for adjustment, when he received the summons of Mississijipi, forbiddmg the longer exercise of the trust which she had given to his keeping. Mississippi seceded on the 9th of January, 1861. Mr. Davis, receiving formal announcement of the event, withdrew on the 21st, after pronouncing an impressive valedictory to the Sen- ate. Its dignified, courteous, and states man -like character has challenged the unqualified eulogy of the enlightened world. SPEECH OF nON. JEFFERSON DAVIS, ON WITHDRAWING FROM THE U. S. SENATE. JAN. 21, 1861. Mr. Davis. I rise, Mr. Presideut, for the purpose of announc- ing to the Senate ttiat X have satisfactory evidence that the State of Mississippi, by a solemn ordinance of her people, in conyention assembled. Las declared her separation from the United States. Under these circumstances, of course, my fuuctioas are terminated here. It has seemed to me proper, however, that I should appear io the Senate to announce that fact to my associates, and I will say but very little more. The occasion does not invite me to go into argument; and my physical condition would not permit me to do so, if otherwise; and yet it seems to become me to say something on the part of a State I here represent, on an occasion so solemn as this. It is known to Senators who have served with me here, that I have, for many years, advocated, as an essential attribute of State sovereignty, the right of a State to secede from the Union. There- fore, if I had not believed there was justifiable cause; if I tad thought that Mississippi was acting without sufficient provocation, or without an existing necessity, I should still, under my theory of the Government, because of my allegiance to the State of which I am a citizen, have been bound by her action. I, however, may he permitted to say that I do think she has justifiable cause, and I 16 d by Google 226 LIFE OF JKFFEliSON DAVI8. approve of her act, I conferred witli her people before that act was taken, counseled them then that if the state of thiDgs which thej apprelicnded should exist when the coQvention met, they h Id t k th li h th yh w d jt d Up Kh wUfdth p fm w th th d y f th ht t Stat t th U d t d git 1 1 t 1 bl t by th 11 fi t f th I w S h IS my th y N U fi d f fid ddt tp il Nllfi m dy 1 h t ght t pply w tl th U d t h t t th St t It ly t b J t h ! wh th t h 1 ted h t t t 1 hi t, t 1 Stat m g t J d f t If d tl gl t f h g t th to t d pp 1 t tl tl fetat t th U f d b t wh tl &t t tl ! d wl tl J pi f th State h t d t h t th j w 11 t g d 1 1 t 1 hf th d tl f h fi t L m th d t t t p t 1 ji! t Agtmwh p wthhftl dhl ft b If w t f f Ity t tl U d t d th 1 t 1 11 tl t b t p d th U It wb fhdp tdttlmttthU —Id t m (film dj i t g 11 h t f t th t wh h b d h C 1 t tl th St t tl t M L Ih d t d I i t i 11 1 t wh 1 1 p ] d t b p f 1— t b w 1 tl 1 m t f '^tat 1 w t t d t b th U b t ly t 1 m f b th g t b f tl t b 1 t th Stat I th J 1 t S 11 tdfftl fmd Ittb J t h d p tl b tl t h St t ei Th w t wh d dtlhptltmmym wh b tte p h f th h 3 f G t a d tl 1 bl ht f th p fl f th St t w 11 p t d by Google PARnftiLL TJ THE 'jEhATB 227 any one from d«njin^ that each Sute is d sovereign ind thus may reclaim the „iaQt? which it has mtde to aoy agent whomsoever I thereloie saj 1 concur m the action ot the people of Missis sippi believing it to he iiecef,t,a!y and proper and shoull have been bonnl by then action if mv belief hid been ttherwise and til , biini,a me to the imjorfant point wliieh I wish on tl-is hat to present to the Senate It ib >j this confouad ng of null ficition and secession that the name of a greit mm who e ashes nm mingle with his mother earth has been evoked to jns tify coeicion agaicit a seceded State The phrase to execufe the laws waa an expression whiL.h General J^cksoo applied to the case of a State refusing to obey the laws while yet a member < f the Union Th'it la not the case whith is n w prt'.ente 1 The 1 w, are to be executtd oier the United btates and uf n tl e pcjple of the United States They have n relation to any f i ei„n country It is i peiver«i a of term^— at least it is a g e^t misapprehension of the case— which cites thit express on fo. ap plication to a State wl ich hw withdiiwn fiom the I uion You may mike war on a fore gu State If it he the purpose of ^en tl mtn they may make war against a State which h ts withdiawn fiom the Unon but theie are no laws of the United btates to be executed within the limits of a seceded btate A btate finlin the mc^t e uphatic avowals ; and in wlute\er CLntingenc^ whethoi of peace or wai, his purpose was one if deathless resistence to any dtnnl of the ught of self government which his fellow citizens had exercised Informed of his election Mi Da\i& immediatelv left his home for the stit of government Along the route to Mont- go uer^ he was greeted Ij the people with e%ery possible demonstiiton of ptiiotie euthu la m anl jeistnal it^^'ard. d by Google AEEIVES AT MOKTGOMBRY. 239 Itt response to tliese demonstrations, he afc several poiuts ad- dressed the people in terms of characteristic eloquence, dignity and moderatioM. ■ Proud, indeed, must ever be, to the Southern people, the contrast of the noble bearing of their chosen ruler with the display of vulgarity attending the journey of Mr. Lincoln from Springfield to Washington. These two men — the one with the calm dignity of the statesman and the polished bearing of the gentleman; the other with coarse jests and buffoonery, upon the eve of the most important event in their individual history, and pregnant with significance to millions — were no bad indices of the civilization of their respective sections. Arriving in Montgomery, Mr, Davis was inaugurated on the 18th February, with a simplicity of ceremony, an absence of personal inflation, and a degree of popular enthusiasm, which weU befitted the formal assertion of true republican liberty, equally protected against the license of mobs and the usurpations of tyrants. The ceremonies of inauguration were little more than the taking of the oath of office and the deliv- ery of the inaugural address. The inaugural of President Davis is unquestionably of the highest order of state papers. As a model of composition, it is rarely equaled; and its statement of the position of the South, the grievances which had led to the assumption of that position, her hopes, aspira- tions, and purposes, has never been surpassed in power and perspicuity, by any similar document. d by Google LIFE OP JEPFEKSON DAVI8. INAUGURAL ADDRESS OP PRESIDENT DAVIS, DELIVERED AT THE CAPITOL, MONDAY, FEB. 18, I86I. Gentlemen of ihe Congress cf the Confederate Slates of America ; Friends and Fellow-Citisens : Called to the difficult and responsible station of Chief Executive of the Provisional G-overument which you have instituted, I ap- proach the discharge of the duties assigned to me with an humble distrust of my abilities, but with a sustaining confidence in the wisdom of those who are to guide and aid me in the administration of public affairs, and an abiding faith in the virtae and patriotism of the people. Looking forward to the speedy establishment of a permanent gOYcrnment to t^ke the place of this, and which, by its greater moral and physical power, wiil be better able to combat with the many difficulties which arise from the conflicting interests of sep- arate nations, I enter upon the duties of the office, to which I have been chosen, with the hope that the beginning of our career, as a Confederacy, may not be obstructed by hostile opposition to our enjoyment of the separate existence and independence which we have asserted, and, with the blessing of Providence, intend to maintain. Our present condition, achieved in a manner unprece- dented in the history of nations, illustrates the American idea that govoraments rest upon the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish governments whenever they become destructive of the ends for which they were established. The declared purpose of the compact of union from which we have withdrawn, was "to esttbli=h justice lu'ture domestic tran- quillity, provide for the common defense promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of libeity to ourselves and pos- terity;" and when, in the j id^n ent of the soiereign States now composing this Confederacy it had been pt.nated from the pur- d by Google INAUGURAL ADDEES3. 241 poses for which it was ordained, and had ceased to answer the ends for which it was established, a peaceful appeal to the ballot-box, declared, that so far as thej were concerned, the governmeut created by that compact should cease to exist. In this they merely asserted a right whieli the Declaration of Independence of 1776 had defined to be inalienable. Of the time and occasion for its exercise, they, as sovereigns, were the final judges, each for itself The impartial and enlightened verdict of mankind will vindicate the rectitude of our conduct, and He, who knows the hearts of men, will judge of the sincerity with which -we labored to preserve the government of our fathers in its spirit. The ri'^ht solemnly proclaimed at the birth of the States, and which has been affirmed and re-affirmed in the bills of rights of States subsequently admitted into the Union of 1789, undeniably recognizes in the people the power to resume the authority delegated for the pur- poses of government. Thus the sovereign States, here represented, pioceeded to form this Confedeiaey, and it is by abuse of language that then act has been denominated a revolution They formed a new alliance, but within each State its governmi.nt has remained and the tights of person and property ha\e not been disturbed The i^'ent thiough whom they eommunicited with fcreign nations, IS changed, but this does not necesaanlj interrupt tl cir inti,rna tional relitions Sustained by the conseiouiness that the trin-ition from the foi mer Union to the present Confederacy, has not proeeeded liom a disregard on our part of lust obligations, or any f ulure to peifoim any constitutional duty, moved by no interest oi passion to m^ade the rights of others, mxijus to eultivite peace and eoramoice with all nations, if we may not hope to avoid war, we may at leist ex poet th it posterity will acquit u^ of having needlessly engaged in it Doubly justified by the absence ot wrong on our put, and by wanton aggiession on the put of others there can le no cause to doubt thit the eoura.ge and patriotism ot the people of the Confed 16 d by Google 242 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. erate States will be found equal to any measures of defense ■which honor and securitj may require. An agricultural people, whose chief interest is the export of a commodity required in every manufacturing country, our true policy is peace and the freest trade which our necessities will per- mit. It is alike our interest, and ttat of all those to whom we would sell and from whom wa would buy, that there should be the fewest practicable restrictions upon the interchange of commodities. There can he but little rivalry between ours and any manufacturing or navigating community, such as ! the North-eastern States of the American Uoion. It must follow , therefore, that a mutual ie itercsf w Id t 1 11 d k d ffi If h 1 tl 1 t f d m h 11 I 1 tl J 1 t fl tl ml f f tl St t w m 1 p p t m t tl y d t t by th fi 1 b t m t fth w d tl 1 wh h w h m d m th t fth tl 1\ 1 te d J tl f Ip 1 d t t b fl ny p d Th h m yy f t yw tl 1 t t th N th Stat w 1 ly d 1 t t q 11 ty 1 to bt p 1 f th It t wh 1 w nt ! d A ty t h w h t d 1 th remedy of separatio a ; and henceforth our energie' i must hi, directed to the conduct of c lur own affairs lod the perpetuity of the Oon- federacy which we have formed. If a just pare option of n lutual interest shall permit us peaceably to pursue our sepirite political career, my most earnest desire will ha\e been fulfilleii, but if this be denied to us, and the integrity of our territory and jurisdic- ,tion be assailed, it will but remain for us, with firm resolve, to appeal to arms and invoke the blessings of Providence on a just As a consequence of our new condition, and with a view to meet anticipated wants, it will be necessary to provide for the speedy and efficient organization of branches of the Executive Depart- d by Google INATTGURAL ADDRESS. 243 ment, haviag special charge of foreiga iotcreourse, fluance, military affairs, aad the postal aervice. For purposes of defense, tte Confederate States may, under ordinary circumstances, rely maialy upon tlie militia; bat it is deemed advisable, in the present condition of affairs, that there should he a welMnstructod and disciplined army, more numerous than would usually be required on a peace establishment. I also suggest that, for the protection of our harbors and commerce on the high seas, a navy adapted to those objects will he required. Tb V h 1 btl Uh tt t fC W th C 1 1 t d ff ly f m tl t f f th f t pi t y f th w II L w t t f d t til t 1 fl t wh 1 h t f 1 w th th 2 t f ^^ S ' w If t t lit p t tl t St t f m h 1 w h tly I t 1 m > k t te th f t wh dthg mtwLhwh ttd rthy Cltt L dqtj bt?jd fh f I m t k t tl J 1 t d w li f th p opl w th th '>( f f m 1 h w h p t d tl P 111 d bl T th I w d 1 p t> J 1 t tl h pp f th C f 1 y t ^ te th t tl 1 Id l m h f h m tj tl t th w If f y p t h 11 h th m f th wh 1 A\ h til -J t t t m d d wh h m t 1 h Id It It A t t d 1 ly ly th d t p w ghts d I f w w If th p t f th C f d t« St t lb mkdhy p th dfllwdly d t 1 0 d t 1 p t h d lil'tl Itt f fildhp dhtf li 1 1 w b 1 1 w th w Id b 1 f th t pi wh 1 1 11 In t ' t J p ( 1 h 1 th 1 111, d by Google 244 LIFE OP JEPPEESON DAVIS. an interest scarcely le^s than oui own This eon n on interc t of the pioducer and consumer can onlv be interruptel by au esteiior force which shinld obstniet its transm ssion to fore ^n mail.et'! — a eouise of conduct which would be ts unju&t toward u^ is it would be detrimental to m^nufictuimg md commeicn! interests abroad Should leason guide the action ot the (jo^eiument tiom which we h'ne separated a policy so deti mentil to tl e cnilizcil world tte Noitherti States included could not be dictated by evi,a the strongest desire to inflict injury upon us but if ttherwiie a ter rible reaj onsibility will rest upon it ind the sufteiing of m Uions will bear testimony to the folly and wickedue s of oui aggres ors In tie meantime there will remain to u« bes des the oidinaiy mens let re sug^e ted the well known lesources for retalutiou upon the commeice ot an euemy Lsper cce in public stitioii'i of euboidinate j,i le to th s wt. h your kindness hts conferred has tiu^bt me tliat care lol t il and disappointment, are the price of offiual elevation "i ou w 11 see many errois to forgive, many deficiencies to tolerate, but y u shall not find in me either a want of zeal or fidelity to the cause that IS to me highest m h pe and of most endunng affectnn Youi generosity has bestowed upon aie an uudeseived distinction — one which I neither sought n r di-sin,! Upon the continuance of that sentiment and upon your wisdom and patriotism I rely to direct and support me in the peitoimance ot the duty requued at mj hinds We hue changed the c nstituent puts but not the si'.tem of our Government The Consfitution foimeJ by oui fathers is thit of these Coatederite States, in their Lspositirn of it, and, in tho judieiil construction it has received, wc have a light which reveals Thus mstructed ts to the just interpretati n cf the insiiument and ever remembirm^ tbit all oflices aie but trusts held tor the jEiple and that di,le„ited powers ire to be stiu,tlj con-itiutd, I d by Google CABINET APPOINTMENTS. 245 will hope, by due diligeaee in the performaiiee of my duties, though I may disappoint your expeeUtions, yet to retain, when retiring, something of the good-will and confidence which welcomed my entrance into office. It is joyous, in the midst of perilous times, to look around upon a people united in heart, where one purpose of high resolve ani- mates and actuates the whole — wliere the sacrifices to be made are not weighed in the balance against honor, and right, and liberty, and equality. Obstacles may retard— they can not long prevent the progress of a movement sanctified by its justice, and sustained by a virtuous people, Eeverently let ua invoke the God of our fathers to guide and protect us in our efi'ortg to perpetuate the principles which, by his blessing, they were able to vindicate, establish, and transmit to tbcir posterity, and with a continuance of His favor, ever gratefully acknowledged, we may hopefully look forward to success, to peace, and to prosperity. Working in great harmony between its executive and legis- lative departments, the new government, within a very few weeks, presented an extraordinary spectacle of wmpact organ- ization, though in all its parts it was yet purely provisional. The Cabinet announced by the President, embraced, for the most part, names well known to the country in connection ■with important public trusts. It may not he inappropriate to speak briefly here of those who sustained to President Davis the close relations of constitutional advisers. Mr. Eobert Toombs, the Secretary of State, was indebted for his appointment not less to the position of his State, the first in rank in the Confederacy, than to the public apprecia- tion .of his abilities. For several years he had represented Georgia in the United States Senate, and in that body his reputation was very high as a debater and orator. His ora- d by Google 246 LLFB OP JEFPEESON DAVIS. tory, however, was a good index of his mind and disposition, strong and impassioned, but desultory, vehement and bluster- ing. Mr. Toombs had contributed largely to prepare tlie people of Georgia for secession, and hia fierce and persistent eloquence had greatly accelerated the movement. His ca^- pacity for agitation and destruction was indeed immeasurably superior to any qualification that he may have had for recon- structing the broken and scattered fragments of the govern- mental column. Restless, arrogant, and intolerant— a born destructive and inveterate agitator — Mr. Toombs speedily de- monstrated his deficiency in statesmansliip. His connection with the Confederate Cabinet was of brief duration, and liis subsequent military service undistinguished. . The War De- partment— the second post of distinction in the Cabinet — was given to Alabama, the second State of the Confederacy, in the per- son of Mr. Lcroy P. Walker. His connection with the Govern- ment, like that of Mr. Toombs, was brief, and wholly unmarked by evidence of fitness. Mr. Memminger, of South Carolina, the Secretary of the Treasury, made an exceedingly unpopular ofiicer; and, as the sequel demonstrated, was incompetent to the delicate task of financial management. The Attorney- General, Mr. Benjamin, of Louisiana, an eminent lawyer and a prominent Senator, was, beyond all question, the ablest of Mr. ©avis' Cabinet. He was a man of marvelous intel- lectual resources, an orator, a lawyer, and gifted, to an unex- ampled degree, in the varied attributes, entering into the savior fairs of polities and diplomacy. Mr. Benjamin con- tinued the trusted counselor of President Davis during tha whole period of his authority. Mr. Mallory, of Florida, was the Secretary of the Navy — a gentleman of excellent sense, unpretending manners, who probably coudacted his depart- d by Google DAVIS' HISTOEICAL POSlTlOS. 247 ment as euccessfully as was possible, with the limited naval resources of the South. The Post-office Department was given to Mr. Eeagan, of Texas, noted for his fidelity, industry, and good sense. The Cabinet of President Davis was destined to many changes in the progress of subsequent events. Of those originally appointed, Messrs. Benjamin, Mallory, and Eeagan continued their connection with the Confederate Government during the entire period of its existence. The brief experiment of Con- federate independence was fruitfid in illustrations of the im- portant truth that political distinction achieved in the ordinary struggles of parties, in times of profound peace, is not the sure guarantee of the possession of those especial and peculiar quali- fications which befit the circumstances of revolution. That President Davis, in tlie selection of some of his advisers, was at fault, is to be ascribed rather to the novelty and necessities of the public situation than to errors of his judgment. Not only must public sentiment respecting men be to some extent consulted, but the test of experience must, necessarily, after all, determine the question of fitness, where all were untried. Jefferson Davis now occupied a position in the highest sense historical. It was plain that his name was destined to be indelibly associated with a series of incidents forming a most thrilling and instructive episode in political histoiy. Aa the exponent of a theory of constitutional principles never asserted, and unknown save through the inspiration of the genius of American Liberty, and as the head of a Govern- ment whose birth and destiny must enter conspicuously into all future questions of popular government, he stood, in a double sense, the central figure in a most striking phase of the drama of human progress. Splendid as had been American d by Google ^48 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. history until that day, it was now to contribute, still more genei-ously, to the illumination of the great truths of political science. The issue was again to be joined between constitutional freedom and the otlious despotism of an enthroned mob. On the one side were asserted the principles of reflated lib- erty, without which free government can never be stable — order, allegiance, and reverence for law and authority. On the other, the wild passions of an infiariated populace, hurling down the restraints of law, shattering constitutions; and when its frenzied lust had been satiated by the destruction of every accessible image of virtue and order, transferring supreme power from its polluted grasp to the hands of demagogues — capable agents of the depraved will which invests thera with authority. Such was really a faithful contrast of the two powers which were now inaugurated in what had been the United States. It was still the old Greek question of the ''few or the many," the "King Numbers" of the North against the conservatism of the South. The old contest was to be revived, of Cleon and Nieias, in the Athenian Agora, and struggling on through the political battle-fields of free governments in all ages. It is not an abuse of language to characterize the North as realizing the ultra theory of popular government. Its politi- cal febrio rests exclusively upon the Utopian conception of an intelligence and integrity in the masses which they have never been known to possess. Carrying out its pernicious construc- tion of the doctrine of the Declaration of Independence, that "all men are bom free and equal," it professes to hold in light esteem the obvious distinctions of race, property, and color. Earnestly devoted to the successful illustration of the d by Google SOUTHERN IDEATj OP EfiPUBLICANlSM. 249 experiment of Democracy, it has sedulously directed its social and political development to the overthrow of caste, the oblit- eration of necassary social distinctions, and the practical asser- tion of the principle of absolute social, political, and personal equality among all men. The election of Lincoln was the grand, decisive triumph of these tendencies. He went into power aa the avowed champion of the interests of tlie poor and laboring classes, which he declared to be in conflict M-ith those of the slave-holding aristocrats of the South. Entirely undistinguished, with no political record, his popularity was based upon his vulgar antecedents — no slight recommendation to the populace, gratified at the prospective promotion of one of its own class. A free society, politically, in which wealth and distinction were debarred to none, the aristocratic influences of slavery were the propitious inducements in the South, to the cultiva- tion of that personal dignity which marks the refinement of rank, in contradistinction to the vulgar pretensions and affecta- tion of a mere aristocracy of money. The patrician society of the South sought the noblest type of republicanism — regulated liberty — beyond the influence of ignorant and fanatical mobs, that perfect order which reposes securely upon virtue, intelli- gence, and interested attachment, which all human experience teaches are the only reliable safegTiards of -freedom. The noblest achievement of constitutional liberty would have been the realization of the Southern ideal of republican- ism. The success and beneficence of such a government would have been in perfect accord with the philosophy of histoiy. Every nation to which has been guaranteed a free constitution is indebted for its hberal features to its educated, patrician classes, while all the decayed republics of history owed their d by Google 250 LIFE or JKFFKRSiOS BAVI3. downfall to tlio corrnptioii and oxeesses of an "unbridled Deinoci'acy." Of sueh a government, Jefferson Davis was the appropriately chosen head. An ardent republican, in the truest and noblest sense of that abused term, a foe to absolutism and radiealisai in every shape, he was the noblest product of a eonservatism in which the elements of distinction were ability, intelligence, refinement, and social position. When, added to this reprs- sentntive quality, are considered his splendid career of publie service, and his varied talents, exempliSed on almost every field of exertion, it must be conceded that no ruler was ever more worthily invited to the head of a nation, and assuredly none ever was invited with such unanimity of popular ac- We have said tliat Jefferson Davis must ever appear to tlie eye of mankind the historic representative of the Confederate cause. The Nortli can not, assm'edly, reject this decision, since it made him the vicai-ious sufferer for what it affected to consider the sins of a nation. Through him, it actually ac- complished that from which the great abilities of Edmund Burke recoiled in confession of impotent endeavor, the indict- ment of an entire people. Those Southern men who have rashly and ungenerously assailed him as responsible for the failure of the South to win its independence, can not complain if the vei-diet of histoiy shall be that the genius of its leader was worthy of a noble cause, whose fate the laws of nature, not the resources or the impotence of one man, determined. The star of Napoleon went down upon the disastrous iield of Waterloo, and tlie millions tliat he had liberated passed again under the domination of tyrants whom they despised. But would the most stupid Bourbon partisan, therefore, call m question the d by Google EAELY HISTORY OF THE CO^'Fl;DERAOY. 251 mighty geiiiua of Napoleon? It is a glorioua memory to Trance, that her illustrioua sovereign, aided by the valor of her children, defied for twenty years, the arras of combined Europe, but she has no blush that those energies were not equal to an indefinite resistance. That the South, struggling against mortal odds, with her comparatively feeble resources constantly diminishing with each prodigiom effort, finally suc- cumbed to an enemy inexhaustible in strength and reinforced by the world, is no testimony against either the valor or the skill with which her struggle was directed. Like Washington, Davis was embarrassed, in a liazardous cause, with defec- tion, distrust, and discontent. But, unlike AYashington, Davis did not receive the assistance of a powerful ally at the moment when aid could be most serviceably employed. RecutTiug to the early history of the Confederacy, during the brief season when Montgomery was its seat of government, and especially to its unwritten details, there seems wanting no auspicious omen to presage for it future security and renown. The cause and its leader equally challenged the enthused sym- pathies of a patriotic people, and all that patriotism was ready to .sacrifice for the one was cheerfully confided to the other. Hopefully, almost joyously, the young Confederacy began its short-lived career. Those were the halcyon days of that cheap patriotism and ferocious valor which delights to vaunt itself beyond the sound of "war's rude alarms." Every aspect of tlie situation appears tinged with the couleur de rose. In fan- cied security of certain independence, achieved without the harsh resort of arms, demagogues boasted that they courted a trial of strength with the North, as an opportunity for the display of Southern prowess. Men who subsequently were noted for unscrupulous assaults upon the Confederate admin- d by Google ZOa LIFE OF JKFFEESOIT DAVIS. istration, and, since tlio war, for their ready prostration befora the Northern juggernaut, were then loud in "never surrender" proclamations of eternal separation from the North. Such was not an appropriate season for expressing grave and painful doubts of the President's fitness for his high trust. No whisper was then heard of his want of appreciation of his situation. There was no intimation then that he failed to discern the future, or refused to provide against the perils that menaced the Confederacy, and were so obvious to more saga- cious minds. Sensational newspaper correspondents, professing to base their accounts upon reliable hints from the executive quarter, were profuse in their panegyrics upon his indefatigable industry, his vigilance, penetration, and marvelous intuition of Yankee designs. They vied with each other in telling the world, especially the North, of the stupendous preparations which the Government was making in anticipation of a pos- sible attempt at coercion by the Lincoln government. It was evident, from the outgivings of every source of opinion, that the Confederates trusting much to the merits of their cause and their own valor, yet largely depended for the successful issue of their assertion of independence upon the soldier-statesman, who, charged with many public duties, had never proven either unwilling or incapable in any trust. The time for censure was not yet at hand. Incompetent generals and recreant politicians were not yet in want of a scape-goat upon which to throw their own delinquencies. Harsh and censorious criticism was re- served for a more opportune period, when the Confederacy, like a wearied gladiator, whose spirit was invincible, reeled under the exhaustion of a dozen successive combats, with as many fresh adversaries. The high administrative capacity of Mr. Davis had received d by Google ADJIINISTKATIVE QUALITIES. 253 a most fortTinate discipline in his brilliant conduct of the Fed- eral War Department. That service was a vaJuaole auxiliary to his efficiency as the executive head of a new goverament, whose safety was, from its incipiency, to depend upon the re- sources of that rarest phase of genius, the combined capacity for civil and military administration. The complex machinery of government, even when moving smoothly in the accustomed grooves, imposes not only severe labor, but is frequently a painful tax upon the faculties of those most familiar with its workings. When to the labor of comprehension is added the task of construction and organization from comparative chaos, such as prevailed at Montgomery, and as prevails every-where, as the result of political change, the difficulties are increased tenfold. Creation must then precede order. Organization is to be perfected before administration can be successfully at- tempted. It is this task of organization which has invoked some of the most splendid displays of genius, and interposed the obstacles which have occasioned its severest disappoint- ments. Universal testimony awards to Napoleon, for his won- derful ingenuity in penetratmg social necessities and meeting ci\-il emergencies, a merit not inferiorto his unrivaled genius for war. Frederick the Great, in times of peace, exhibited a vicious pragmatism which rendered his civil rule contemptible when contrasted with his military success. The underlying secret of all successful administration is the union of the advantages flowing from unity of purpose, and those resulting from division of labor — so necessary to exact and intelligent execution. President Davis, throughout his administration, sought the attainment of this aim. Confiding the various departments to men of at least reputed talents and integrity, he yet exercised that constant supervision which d by Google 254 MFB OF JFFFER'iON DIVI'* WIS inseparible fiom his rL^^pTOsibihtics, uiJ exacted b> pnbHe expectation, and this -Bithout airogince oi dictation Disin- genuous ciiticiam baa alleged that, by -m assuinptioii nf auto- cracy, he united in himself ill the pOHeis and prerogatives of govemmcnt, and thus profes.osom, Virginia proudly assumed the post of leadership and of peril in the struggle for those immortal principles, of which her soil was the nursery and her illustrious sons the foremost champions. The historic prestige, of Virginia was heightened by this act of supreme devotion, and the value of her influence was speedily demonstrated by the enthusiastic accession of other States to the cause which she had espoused. The ordinance of secession, adopted by the Virginia Con- vention, was followed immediately by a temporally alliance* with the Confederate States, and in a few weeks afterward the Confederacy embraced, in addition to its original members, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas, each of which, by formal State action, ratified the Confederate con- stitution. The arbitrary acts of the Federal government, in Maryland and IMissouri, not only vindicated the conrse of those States which had interpreted its policy as one of subjugation, but greatly strengthened the already preponderant Southern sym- pathies of those two commonwealths. Increasing by consecu- tive proclamations his demands for troops, Mr. Lincoln soon had nearly two hundred thousand men under arms. These troops assembled under false pretenses at different points, were used for purposes of glaring despotism; overawing the pro- nounced Southern feeling of the people by military arrests, by licentious and violent demonstrations of the soldiery. Missouri was soon in open revolt against the Federal authorities, and in Maryland a general uprising was prevented by the thorough precautions which had been adopted, rendering clearly hopeless * April 24, 1861, Virginia joined the Confederacy as a member May 6, 1861. d by Google 270 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. such an undertalting. The Legislature of Missouri, unques- tionably representing a large majority of her citizens, event- ually adopted an ordinance of secession and ratified the constitution of the Confederate States. Kentucky, vainly attempting a policy of neutrality, was divided in sentiment and in strength between the contestants, A portion of her citizens, residing within the Confederate lines, several mouths after the beginning of the war, declared the State out of the Union, and associated Kentucky with the Confederacy. Such were the immediate consequences resulting from the capture of Fort Sumter. All hopes of peace vanished in the rush of events ■which daily contributed new elements to the incipient strife, and with constant reinforcements of strength and feeling to each of the contending parties, there was want- ing no omen of a struggle bloody and exhaustive beyond all previous example. There were phases of the situation not to be lightly appre- ciated by so thoughtful a statesman as President Davis, which did not encourage that smguine con\i<.tion, so extiavigantly indulged in by many popuUr Icidcrs, of 'in o^ ci whelming ind immediate triumph of the Siuthcm cause The immcnie disparity of physical rcsomces, as was abundantlj shown by the lessons of history, could be neutrahzed by i wise public administration, by superior vilor, and by that high sense of public virtue, in its origiml Roman sense ol foititude, endui- ance, and willing sacrifiet. in the cau'^e ot countty, which is the last and sure defense of a nation's libeitits Noi weie those important advantages of the South, to the value of which his- torical precedents have so conclusively testified — a conscious rectitude of purpose — a supreme conviction that theirs was the better cause, and that, besides, it was a war for home and d by Google Er^EMENT OF WEAKNESS IN THE SOUTH, 271 fainily, to be fought mainly upon their own soil — to be over- looked iu an iutelligcut estimate of the relative strength of the belligerents. It was not a failure to recognize these great advantages which forbade wise and reflective Southern statesmen to indulge in those grotesque exhibitions of braggadocio, with which demagoguea amused excited crowds at railway stations and upon street-corners. There was an element of weakness in the South, which, looking to the contingencies of the future, and remembering the incertitude of war, might prove the source of serious danger. This was the absence of that unity in the -South, to which all her statesmen had looked forward, when- ever actual battle should be joined between the defenders and assailants of Southern liberties. To see a " United South," had been for years the dream of Calhoun's noble intellect. Davis, with equal energy and ability, had striven for such united action by the South as would command peace and se- curity in the Union, or indcpendenee beyond its limits. But now the battle was joined, and the dream was not to be reahzed. Kentucky was hopelessly divided, and though, from the overwhelming majority of her people in sympathy with the South, were to come thousands of gallant soldiers, the Confed- eracy was to be denied the powerful aid which the brave heart and mighty resources of united Kentucky should have thrown into tlie scale. Missom-i, in consequence of her geographical po- sition, peculiarly assailable by the North-western States, and by divisions among her population, was similarly situated ; while Maryland, a gallant and patriotic State, not less than South Carolina devoted to the independence of the South, was se- curely shackled at the first demonstration, by her people, of sympathy with their invaded countrymen. d by Google 272 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. But not only was there a failure to realize united action by those States, which, by geographical contiguity, no less than by identity of political iostitutiona, constituted what was desig- nated as The South. There was by no means a thoroughly harmonious sentiment among the people of those States which had joined the Southern alliance. This was conspicuously the case in Western Virginia and Eastern Tennessee.* Though ap- parently insignificant in the midst of the general enthusiasm which prevailed in the early months of the war, these and other instances of local disaffection were to prove, at more than one critical period, fruitful of embarrassment. Intelligence of Confederate disasters was always the signal for exhibitions of that covert disloyalty which Confederate success compelled to concealment. Always ready to assist the invaders of their country, the so-called "Union men" of the South were valu- able auxiliaries to the Federal armies as spies, and as secret enemies to the cause of the patriots; but they were not more hurtful and insidious in these capacities than as the nucleus around which crystallized, under the direction of disappointed demagogues, the various elements of discontent which were subsequently developed. Yet in both sections was the outward seeming at least of an undivided war sentiment. The Union party of the South, as it had previously existed — a powerful political organization, embracing a majority of the people of the Border States— did not more immediately disappear, as the certainty of war was developed, than did the party of peace at the North. The Northern Democracy did not, for a moment, strive to breast, the popular current, but its leaders, the life-long allies of the * "East Tennessee" wag a perpetual "Are in the rear" to tJie Coa- d by Google PEESIDENT DAVIS EE8P0NBS. 273 South, committed, by a thousand declarations to the cause of States' Eights, eagerly vied with the Eepubliean leaders in threats of vengeance against the South. The Dickinsons, EverettB, Cochranes, Logans, and Butlers — hitherto the pro- fessed friends and advocates of the South — with that pliant accommodation to circumstances, so befitting the instincts of the demagogue, in their harangues to howling mobs, pro- claimed themselves the advocates of a ruthless and indiscrim- inate war&te upon a people who had been driven, by intolerable wrongs, into patriotic resistance. We have already described the attitude and condition of the Confederate Government at Montgomery previous to the at^ tack upon Fort Sumter. The honorable exertions of President Davis, cordially approved by Congress and the people, to avoid a collision of arms, were disappointed, and events had now verified his life-long conviction, that the exercise of their sovereignty, by the States, would be attended by a war in- volving their existence. Sustained by an unlimited popular confidence, with a comparatively perfected organization, and with every possible preparation that the difficulties of its sit- uation would permit, the Government met, with commendable composure, the shock of arms which its chief had foreseen to be inevitable. The proclamation of President Lincoln, declaring war upon the Confederate States, was promptly responded to by Presi- dent Davis, in official announcements, appropriately recognizing the condition of public affiirs, and inviting energetic prepara^ tions for immediate hostilities. He at once called upon the various States for quotas of volunteers for the public defense. By public proclamation, he invited applications for privateer- ing service, in which armed vessels might assist in the public d by Google LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. defense on the high seas, under letters of marque and reprisal granted by Congress.* In every instance, and by all classes of citizens, an enthusi- astic response was given to the demands of the Government. Individuals and corporations entered into a generous and patriotic rivalry in the tender of aid to the cause. "Wealthy citizens donated large sums of money or supplies, while rail-' road and transportation companies tendered valuable assistance in the conveyance of troops and stores. An enthusiastic desire to enter the public service was manifested in every community. Men decrepit from age, or infirm from disease, were impor- tunate in demanding any service suitable to their condition. Volunteering progressed so actively that a few weeks only suf- ficed to show that the Confederacy — for the present at least — would not want soldiers. In all the States the responses to the call for volunteers exceeded the quotas. L special session, in obedience to a * President Davis appreciated tte immenae value to the South of priva- teering. The Federal Qovemment emplojed all the naval force at their command to hlockade the South, recalled the squadrons stationed in foreign waters, and made estensive purchases of vessels for purposes of war. The South, of course, had no navy, since there had been no time fo pre- pare or purchase one ■within tlie brief space between the organization of the Confederate Government and the beginning of hostilities. Under tJhoso circumstances there remained only the resort to private armed ships, under letters of marque, to assault the floating commerce of the enemy, and, to sonle extent, neutralise the blockade. Doubting the constitutional povrer of the executive in the premises, he, with characteristic regard for law, determined not to commission privateers until duly autioriaed by the legislation of Congress. The authority to issue commissions, and letters of marque and general reprisal, to privateers, was given by act of Congress, passed 6th of May. d by Google PRESIDENT DAVIS' MESSAGE, 275 proclamation of the Presideut, on the 29th of April. The message was an eminently characteristic document, and made a profound impression both in Europe and the United States. Its calm and clear statements were in marked contrast with the wild elements of war convulsing the country. Europe was not less amazed and delighted with its dignify and force, than was the North impressed with the earnest terms in which the purpose of resistance was announced. He reviewed and established the doctrine of secession, detailed the facts showing the bad fe,ith of the Northern government about Eort Sumter, and the necessity for its capture; spoke in terms of keen, yet dignified satire of Lincoln's proclamation, which attempted to treat seven sovereign States united in a confederacy, and hold- ing five millions of people and a half million of square miles of territory, as "combinations," which he proposed to suppress by a posse comitatus of seventy-five thousand men ; congratu- kted the Congress on the probable accession of other slave States; informed them that the State Department had sent three commissioners to England, France, Russia and Belgium, to seek the recognition of the Confederate States; advised legislation for the employment of privateers for measures of defense, and for perfecting the government organization ; and concluded with these impressive words: "We feel that our cause is just and holy; we protest solemnly in the face of mankind that we desire peace at any sacrifice save that of honor and independence ; we seek no conquest, no aggrandizement, no concession of any kind from the States with whom we were ktely confederated. All we seek is to be lot alone; that those who never held power over us shall not now attempt our sub- jugation by arms. This we will, this we must resist to the direst extremity. The moment that tliis pretension is aban- d by Google 276 LII^E OF JEFFEESON BAVI9. doned, the sword will drop from onr grasp, and we shall be ready to enter into treaties of amity and commerce that can not but be materially beneficial. So long as this pretension is maintained, with firm reliance on that divine power which covers with its protection the just cause, we will continue the struggle for our inherent right to freedom, independence, and self- government." The geographical position of Virginia dearly indicated that State as the Flanders of the war. Within her boundaries was necessarily to be located the first line of Confederate defense, and al.so to be found more than one fevorable point d'appui for the invading forces. To the aid of important geographical and physical considerations, moral and political necessities ■were superadded, to urge a prompt and vigorous assistance to Virginia, in the heroic effort which she was preparing for her deliverance. With the eye of the soldier and the appreciation of the statesman, President Davis urged the immediate removal of the seat of government to the neighborhood of the seat of war. On the 20th of May the seat of the Confederate Gov- ernment was transferred from Montgomery to Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and within a few days afterward Mr. Davis Teached the latter city.* *A recent work {Bichmond During the War) thus mentions the arrival of Mr. Dayia in Richmond : "He was received with an outburst of enthusiasm. A suite of hand- some apartments had been provided for him at the Spotswood Hotel, until ftrrangemenia could be made for supplying him with more elegant and suitable accommodations. Over the hotel, and from fho various windows of the guests, waved numerous Confederate flags, and the rooms destined for his use were gorgeously draped in the Confederate colors. In honor of his arrival, almost every house in the city was decorated with the ' Stars and Bars.' d by Google EICHMOND Tlin CAPITAL. 277 The transfer of the Confederate capital to Kichmond was an event affecting the direction, character, and destinies of the ■war to such an extent as entitles it to be considered one of its salient incidents As a mci^ure of policy, it has been variously ■V lewed, and has involved some interesting discussion of inili- tarj lud strategic consideration's In the progress of events durmg the wit, ite wi&dom wis generiUj recognized, and in the calmer judgment of the piL&ent there is scarcely a dissent- ing -^ oicc to the pieviilmg cpiniou that it w is a master-stroke of pohtical sagiuit; ind militarj forecast High military autlioiitj has been quottd in support of the opinion opposed to locating the Confederate capital at Rich- mmd Ingtmou'ily enough it was illeged that such a step in\oKed fighting on the txteiioi of the circle instead of the (entie, ind that thus the gieat idvantage to the party conduct- ing operations upon an intLnoi hue would be surrendered. It was also tolerably certain that the North would aim, in its in\isHn, it the ConfedLnte oapitil as the \itil objective point ot its campaigns and to tiansfer the capitil to a point so far An elpgT,iit lesidonoe (:>r thf nxe of Mr Davis wna booh procured It WIS situated in the western p^rt of the city on a hill oi eiloolmg a land- scape of rcmantic heautT Thii estabhshmenf was lusunintly furnished, and there Mr and Mrs Divis dispensed the elegant hospitalities for which Biey were ever distinguished Mrs Dayis is a tall, commanding fij;uie with d^lkh^^r eyes anl complexion inl stion^Iy marked esprea sion which lies i-hiefly in the mouth With fiimly set yet flesibie lips, theie IS iadiL,it«d much ener^ of pirpose and will, hut beautifully softened [ y the usuiUy sad expiession f her dark earnest eyes Her manneis are kind gratefil easy ind afialle and her receptions were chiraoferized ly the dignity in 1 suiyity which should yery properly dis tin^msh the drawing room entertamments of the Chief Md<,i'5trat8 of a E-'juUic d by Google 278 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. north as Richmond, greatly diminished the enemy's difficulties — first, as to space; and secondly, by shortening his lioe of transportation and supply. But these views were the conclusions of a purely strategic judgment, overlooking entirely moral and political considei'a^ tiona involved, nor are they by any meaus exhaustive of the ailment as to the military aspects of the situation. The courageous and unselfish action of Virginia deserved a response of similar spirit from the Confederacy. Virginia had volun- tarily become the outpost of the South, and her people needed the presence among them of that authority which was to wield her great resources, organize her energies, and give counsel to her courage. Her people invited the Government to join them and make the battle for the common deliverance of the South around their homesteads. To accept this invitation was a step no less characteristic of President Davis than was his prompt, decisive action in the crisis at Buena Vista. It had tlie combined advantage of hold defiance and prudent calcula- tion. This bold courting of the issue by the infant power, at the very outset of hostilities, was the foundation of that brilliant prestige which marked its earlier history. To an ad- versary intoxicated with an overweening sense of numerical superiority, and a brutal reliance upon his superior strength, this defiant planting of the standard in front of his first line was a significant warning of the difficulties of the task which he had undertaken. President Davis has never seen reason to regret the trans- fer of the Government to Eichmoiid. It bound Virginia, by indissoluble ties to the fortunes of the Confederacy, and was the beginning of an affection for himself, among her citizens, which it was their pride to exhibit in the face of calamities d by Google E\'EN'r« IK VIRGINIA. 279 common to him and to themselves. Not even in his own galknt State of Mississippi are the genius, virtues, and feme of Jeifersou Davis clierished with a more tender association than in Virginia. A brief rfesumfe of events will now assist to a clear under- standing of the situation of affiiirs when President Davis reached Richmond in the latter part of May. Vii^inia, a week previously, had, by formal vote of her people, ratified the ordinance of secession adopted by her convention. When the convention passed the ordinance of secession on the 17th of April, the State authorities, with commendable discretion, prepared to make important seizures of arms, stores, etc., the property of the Federal Government within the Umits of the State. Governor Letcher — well known for his steadfast de- votion to the Union, and for his honorable zeal to preserve it — in this trying crisis of the State, was nobly feithftil to his Virginian instincts, and mindful of the honorable part which devolved upon Virginia's Governor. The capture of two places of special importance was sought by expeditions arranged with secrecy and ingenuity, but re- sulting, in both instances, in only partial success. These places were Gosport Navy-yard — fiimous for its dry-dock, shops, ammunition, arms, timber, rope-walks, and other ap- purtenances of an extensive naval establishment — and Har- per's Ferry, on the Potomac, with its extensive armory and arsenal, large collection of arms, and valuable machinery. At the latter place, the Federal commander, by an unworthy sub- terfuge, obtained a delay in the attack which the Virginians were about to make, and took advantage of a parley, to at- tempt the destruction, by fire, of the buildings and machinery. Much valuable property was destroyed, but the State secured d by Google 280 r-IFE OF JliFJ!-J.:iwuN i)Avr«. machinery, which was afterward turned to most important account, and many excellent arms for her rapidly gathering volunteers. The attempted destruction, by the Federals, at Gosport, was imperfectly executed. Among the prizes cap- tured here was the steam frigate Merriraac, nearly finished, but greatly damaged by fire. "Within a very few months this vessel was destined to a performance, conspicuous for all time in the annals of naval warfare. The authorities of North Carolina — a State which had clung with unsurpassed fidelity to the Federal Union — acted with a vigor which well befitted a community conspicuous, in the first American revolution, for the fidelity of its patriotism. Slow to reach her conclusions, North Carolina was fully up to the demands of the occasion, in her preparation for a struggle, during which her revolutionary feme was to be excelled by a second dedication of her blood and energies to the cause of liberty. On the 21st of May, North Carolina, by unanimous vote of her convention, adopted an ordinance of secession. Her brave Governor (Ellis) whose services were too soon lost to his State and country, had previously caused the seizure of Forts Macon and Caswell, and the arsenal at Fayetteville, with nearly sixty thousand arms, of which half were of the most approved construction. On the 19th of April occurred a collision between citizens of Baltimore and Massachusetts soldiers, en rovte to the Fed- eral capital, followed by such a stringent policy as made clearly hopeless the open cooperation of Maryland, unless by successful invasion of the Confederate forces. Missouri, under the guidance of Jackson, Price, and other able and resolute leaders, was preparing a heroic resistance, but under difficulties greater tlian were experienced in any d by Google GENERAL LEE. 281 Other Soiitlieni State, against the domination established upon her soil. When President Davis reached Richmond he found Vir- ginia in an advanced state of preparation. Thirty thousand troops were in camps of instruction, qt upon duty at Norfolk, upon the peninsula of James and York Hivers, and at differ- ent points upon the northern boundary of the State. In su- preme command was General Eobert E. Lee, the friend and former classmate of the President at West Point ; and, under him, Colonel John B, Magrader, also his associate at "West Point, and other officers of promise and ability, seeking ser- vice in defense of their native State and the South. As the several States acceded to the Confederacy, their troops, arms, stores, etc., were turned over to the Confederate authorities, and officers were assigned rank in the Confederate service by a rale, regulated by the rank which they had held in the Fed- eral army. In accordance with this rule, General Lee was third on the list of full generals appointed by President Davis— General Cooper being first, and General Albert Sydney Johnston being second. General Lee had been first commissioned, after the tender of his resignation in the Federal service, a Major- Gencral of Virginia forces. Until he was commissioned full general, by President Davis, in June, 1861, he continued to act as the general commanding the Virginia forces, and was invested also with the direction of the Confederate troops which were arriving daily from the States south. His author- ity was as follows : "MoNTOOMBRT, May 10, ISfil. "To Major-Oeneral R. E. Lee: To prevent confusion, you will assume control of the forces of the Confederate States in d by Google UFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. Virginia, an"d assign them to such duties as you may in- dicate, until further orders; for which this will he your authority, " L. P. Walker, Secretary of War." It would be impossible to overestimate the services of Gen- eral Lee in the preparation of the Virginia troops for the field, and in preparing the general defense of the State by the location and disposition of the Confederate forces as they ar- rived in Virginia. His distinguished services afterwards are hardly better evidence of his genius as a soldier, than the results of his arduous labor at this trying period, and in a position of comparative obscurity. President Davis fully in- dicated his confidence in the counsels of Lee by his constant retention of him at his side. The South has probably not yet appreciated the extent to which the genius of Lee, in coopera- tion with that of Davis, aided in those earlier achieve- ments of the war, which secured the immediate preservation of the Confederacy, and earned so flattering a reputation for others. With the establishment of the Confederate authority in Virginia, reinforcements from other States were constantly added to her own levies, and by the middle of June, more than fifty thousand men were in arms for her defense. As yet, eolli.si(His between the opposing forces had been rare, and totally indecisive. A force of raw volunteers, unorganized and imperfectly armed, was surprised in Western Virginia, by a movement of considerable vigor on the part of the Federal commander, and the patriots, under Colonel PortcrfieM, com- pelled to retreat. At Great Bethel, near Fortress Monroe, a few hundred Virginians and North Carolinians, under Colonel d by Google mageudee's viotoky. 283 3r, handsomely repulsed a large column of Federal troops, attempting to advance np the peninsula. In the then uneducated popular idea of military operations, the figlit at Bethel was magnified to an extent greatly heyond its real importance. It had, nevertheless, a timely significance, in its evidence of the spirit of the Confederate soldiery. President Davis was pleased to recognize this feet in a congratulatory letter to Governor Ellis, commending the conduct of the North Carolinians who were engaged in the fight. These minor affau's were preliminary incidents to the thrilling events, upon a more extended scale of operations, and upon a more important theatre, which were to make mem- orable the approaching midsummer. Pending the preparations, active and extensive on both sides, for the coming grand encounter, there was a marked pause in military operations, attended by an agreeable subsidence of the feverish excitement of which war is so productive. , The struggle for the mastery in Virginia, which it was plain would decide the present fate of the Southern movement, was destined also to decide, in a large measure, the extent and duration of the war. Viewed in its historical significance, it becomes chiefiy important as a stage of the revolution indicating a new departure, and an altered direction of events. Preparation was now to be dis- placed by action. Skirmishes were to be followed by heavy engagements, and the high prestige of the South was now to be subjected to its first test, in that long series of ci-uel en- counters, between valor and endurance on one side, and mere weight of numbers on the other. Preliminary to the narrative of these important events, ap- propriately arises one phase of tliat historical question which involves the statesmanship, the forecast, and the general fitness d by Google ^«4 LIFE OF JEFPEESOS DAVIS. of Jefferson Davis in the position which he now oecupied, and under the circurastanees by which he was surrounded. It would be a superfluous and unprofitable task to consider in detail the numerous allegations, trivial and serious, made against President Davis by his assailants, in support of their professed belief in his responsibility for the failure of the Confederate cause. When iacts are perverted, history dis- torted, and prejudice, rather than truth, is the governing in- fluence, such allegations will be sufficiently numerous, even though they be not well sustained. Nor yet is it maintained that President Davis committed no errors in the long and trying term of his administration. It is very certain that no such defense, asserting his iufallibility, would be approved by him. But the real historical significance of the ques- tion of Mr. Davis' capacity for his office may be reduced to very simple dimensions. Conceding him to ho mor- tal, we concede that he is fallible. Then the question arises. Were his errors sufficiently numerous and serious, unaided by other and greater causes, to have occasioned the &ilure of the South in the late war ? Again, conceding still more liberally to his assailants, were those errors the chief causes of a feilure, which might have been avoided, despite all other adverse in- fluences, disadvantages, and obstaeles, if a different adminis- trative policy .had prevailed? The subject now has no value, save in- Its historical sense, and in that sense its value must be determined from the stand- point just indicated. At least it is in that aspect that we proiwse to consider it, whenever its discussion shall be appro-, priate in these pages. The consideration will be modified by many collateral questions which must incidentally arise. It may be necessary to ask if no other Southern leader, entrusted d by Google AN U(POBTANT QUESTION. 285 ■with great responsibilities, and enjoying un inter nipted popular favor, during and since the war, committed mistakes quite as serious and frequent as did the President, in proportion to the multiplicity of hi* tares? It may be appropriate, too, to con- sidtr tht, influence that these mistakes of others exerted ujtou th se finil di-,astLrfe tor whuh he ilone is held responsible The-^e questions we propose to wnsidei each in its ai>propinte phce, and with becoming candor If we shall not meet the arguments md illegitions emplfvcd agimst Mr Di-vis mth a spirit more ingenuous than has =eemcd to actuito his assail ant-f, our sufCL&.s mu^t be poor, indeed Those who piofcss to consider President Da\is -w mting m the necessaij quihfintions for his position, dwell with espccnl emphnsig upon whit they ire plei^ed to charicteiize his fail- ure m the eirly mouths of the wai, to foresee its ch-iractei, duration ind mignitude, ind the consequent impeifectpiepaia- tion of the Confedeiite Govemment It is asserted thit he was utteil) blind to ill the induatiDnb of a long and obstinate struggle ur^<-d upon his attention by a moie sagacious stites- manship than his own, that he was persistpnt ind iiregint in his prophecies of a stiuggle, short, brilliint, ind over whelming in fi-\oi of the South e\en iftei the wai had com- menced; and that before the bombirdment of Sumter ho wa& no less positive in his con\ictions that theie would be no -nir, that he was, in short, stupidly unreisoning and inicti\e, deaf alike to entreaties, arguments in I fjcts If, indeed, it could be estibli^hcd thit duiin^ the tn of secession (the interval between November, 1860, and April, 1861), Mr. Davis had cherished expectations of peaceable sepa- ration, and that during that portion of his presidential term embraced before the assault upon Sumter, relying upon this d by Google 286 LIFE OP JEPFEE,=ON DAVIS. prospect of peace, he had failed to prepare for wir, then, in- deed, -would his responsibility be gieit, but it would be -^hiied by every contemporary statesman of the boutli almct if not quite, without an exception. History may pilliate the im ?- ing iniatuation of the Southern m isses at thia period b it surely its verdict must be a contemptuous condemnitiin ol that vaunted statesmanship which scouted ■nai as the lesult of secession, as an impossibility, and its anticipation as the pto- duct of timidity. But President Dqms is not druen to the extremity of seeking so poor i lefuge is the common and universal blindness and weakness of that ciitieal period Ee- cognizing the justice of that test which demands of the tiue statesman a prescience beyond the a\eiage vi-"''- Jeff'n Davis." 20 d by Google 306 LIFE OF JEPPBRSON DAVIS. He remaioed at Manassas, in consultation witii Generals Beanregai-d and Johnston, until the morning of Tuesday, JuSy 23d. The return of the President to Richmond was tlie oo- casion of renewed patriotic rejoicings. An immense crowd awaited at the railroad depot, in expectancy of his aiTival, and both there and at hia hotel occurred most enthusiastic demonstrations of popular delight at the success of the army, and of public regard for himself.* At night Mr. Davis ad- dr<;,i;?'l, with thrilling effect, an immense audience, from a ■window of the Spottswood Hotel, recounting some of the in- »Tha speech made by Mr. Davis at the depot of the Vii^inia Centra.1 Biiih'oad was not i ■eported in the newspapers. The writer, in compiiiiy with two friends, w aa in the crowd which greeted the return of Mr. Davis to th p fal d h wa. th ft t f tl I th g! w w d ft! p 1: th t tl b f tt Af h T- q tly t th ttl dpotth -disg blww f lirs whhdAlD dw p Usd th I p d bj tl m t i t 1 1 1 ^y h m Tl y p d w t d w 1 1-1 h d f t! first tim Ap t p ua te tl us ioq mi tly ip p t t th Fdlw t ns fth C fde le Si I I J withy this g th 1 tt 1 I H f 1 whioh we all experiance aa compared with the ansiety of three days ago Yjur little limy— derided for its viul of numbers— derided for its want of rms— deiidei for its lack of all the essenlnt mateiial of war — h.ia m t llie ^and irmy of the enemy, routed it at eieij point, and it now Hiet. m m»lonoa8 retreat before our iictouous columns We have taught them a leisou in Iheir invasion of the «ai,red sod of Viiginia, we hive taught them thit the grand old mother of Washington still nui-tures a bind of 1-eroi.s and a yet bloodier and far more fatal lesson awaits the I unlo 1 they ''i tdily acknowledge (hat freedom to wMcli you were d by Google liESUI-TS OP THE VICTORY, radents of the battle, whioh he declai-ecl to be a decisive victory, if followed by energetic measures, and counseled moderation and forbeiirajiee in victory, with unrelaxed preparations for future trials. It waa upon this occasion that he uttered the memorable injunction, " Never be haughty to the humble, or humble to the haughty." The immediate and palpable consequence of the victory of Man- assas was the rescue of the Confederacy from the peril by which, for weeks, it had been threatened. The South was now plainly a power, capable of fighting ably and vigorously, and with greatly improved prospects of success, for the independence whicli it had asserted. Time was to develop a far greater value in this wonderful success than was then made available. A few days only were required to exhibit, what at first appeared merely a thorough repulse of the Federal army, as an overwhelming rout, capable of being followed to such results as might have changed even the iat« of a nation. Not many weeks sufficed to convince the Southern people of the fact which must ever dwell among their saddest associations, that an opportunity, in- estimable in value, and almost unparalleled in its flattering inducements to a people situated as they were, had been ut- terly unappreciated and irrevocably lost. In the numerous aceounfa which have been written, repre- senting all shades of opinion from different stand-points on both sides, and from the wide discussion which has resulted, history can be at no loss for material upon which to base an intelligent estimate of this battle, and of the extent to which the victors reaped the advantages of success. Differences of opinion have prevailed, and wOl, in all probability, continue to prevail, respecting the purely military questions involved in the discussion of the absence of such a vigorous, pciLi- d by Google 308 LIFE OF JBFFEKSON DAVTS, nacious, and unrelenting pursuit by the Confederate as was necessary to secure the fruits of a decisive victory. But the stubborn convictiou, nevertheless, remains, and will never be eradicated from the Southern mind — that, barring the imme- diate security to the Confederate capital, Manassas was but a barren victory, where results of a most decisive character were ■within easy reach. Nor is this popular impression unsns- tained by such competent military authorityj as will command respect for its judgment, upon tliose aspects of the question, upon which a military judgment is alone valuable. So emphatic became the public condemnation of the inac- tivity of the army, and especially when, by subsequent infor- mation, was revealed the real condition of the enemy after his overwhelming di.saster, that inquiry was naturally made as to the authorship of such an erroneous policy. The presence of President Davis, both during a portion of the battle and dur- ing the day following, was promptly seized upon as affording a clue to the mystery, For months he rested under the sus- picion of having, by peremptory order, stopped the pursuit of the enemy, in the face of the protestations of his generals, who would have pressed it to the extent of attainable results. How such an impression — so uUerly in confitd with the facts — could have obtained, by whom, or for what purpose it was disseminated, it is now needless to inquire. The slander was, at length, after having been circulated to the injury of Mr. Davis throughout the country, so conclusively answered as to receive not even the pretense of belief, save from an unscrup- ulous partisanship, at all times deaf to facts which could not be perverted injuriously to the President. ■ It nevertheless had served a purpose, in preparing the popular mind for those con- stantly iterated charges of "executive interference," in the d by Google MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED, 309 plans and dispositions of the armies of the Confederacy, which followed at subsequent stages of the war. It may be asked. Why did Mr. Davis suffer this suspicion, when the proof of its injustice might have been so easily ad- duced? This inquiry would indicate an imperfect acquaint- ance with that devoted patriotism and knightly magnanimity which belong to his character. Any explanation acquitting himself, must have thrown the responsibility upon Generals Johnston and Beauregard, and he preferred rather to suffer an undeserved reproach, than to excite distrust of two oificers, then enjoying the largest degree of popular confidence. With him, selfish considerations were never permitted to outweigh the interests of the country. Actuated by this impalse, he, in more than one instance, where the names of men high in pul>- lic fevor were used in his disparagement, refused, even in self- defense, tliat retaliation, which must have hurt the cause in proportion as it diminished confidence in its prominent repre- sentatives. Mr. Davis, with that decorum which has equally illustrated his public and private life, recognized the special propriety of a denial of these injurious rumors from, other sourees, fully apprized of their falsity, and from which such an acquittal of himself would have come with becoming can- dor and grace. Justice, proverbially slow, has been tardy indeed in its awards to Mr. Davis; but in this instance, as it must inevi- tably in others, it has come time enough for his historical vindication. The reader, uninformed as to the merits of this question, mil be content with a limited statement from the mass of testimony, which has ultimately acquitted Mr. Davis of having prevented the pursuit of the Federal army after its overthrow upou the field of JIanasses. lu a piibhcation, pre- d by Google 310 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVtS. sonting an elaborate indictment against Mi-. Davis, as the mai'ii iustrument of the downfall of tht! Confederacy, Avritten since tlie war, is found the following admission : " As is known, he (President Davis) was at Manasses the evening of the 2Jst July, 1861. Until a late hour that night he was engaged ■with Generals Johnston and Beauregard, at the quarters of the latter, in discussing the momentous achievements of the day, the extent of which was not as yet recognized at all by him or his generals. Much gratified with known results, his bearing was eminently proper. He certainly expressed no opposition to any forward movement; nor at the time dis- played a disposition to interpose his opinion or authority touching operations and plans of campaign."* General Johnston, in a communication published since the war, assumes the responsibility of the failure to pursue, and, with the advantage of retrospect, defends that coui-se with co- gent reasoning and an interesting statement of facts. Says General Johnston: "'The substantial fruit' of this victory was the preservation of the Confederacy. No more could have been hoped for. The pursuit of the enemy was not continued because our cavalry (a very small force) was driven back by the 'solid resistance' of the United States infantry. Its rear- guard was an entire division, which had not been engaged, and was twelve or flfteeen times more numerous than our two little bodies of cavalry. The infantry was not required to continue the pursuit, because it would have been harassing it to no purpose. It is well known that infantry, unencumbered by baggage trains, can easily escape pursuing cavalry." That no ferther results were to be hoped for than the arrest of the Federal advance toward Eichmond, he endeavors to de- *The Harper's Magazine article of General JoivJaa. d by Google GENERAL JOHHSTOn's STATEMENTS. 311 monstrate as follows: "A movement upon Wasliiugton was out of the qiiestion. We could not have carried the intrench- ments by assault, and had none of the means to btsiege them. Our assault would have been repulsed, and the enemy, tlieu become the victorious party, would have resumed their march to Richmond; but if we bad captured the intrcnchments, a river, a mile wide, lay between them and "Washington, com- manded by the guns of a Federal fleet. If we had taken Alexandria, -which stands on low and level ground, those guns would have driven us out in a few hours, at the same time killing our friends, the inhabitants. We could not cross the Potomac, and therefore it was impracticable to conquer the hostile capital, or emancipate oppressed Maryland." But these statements, ample, as far as they go, in the vindi- cation of Mr. Davis, only partially tell the story of Mimassas. They do not fully describe his real relation to the question, though we are far from imputing to General Johnston an in- tentional omission. A statement of Mr, Davis' vicwa was not necessarily germane to General Johnston's explanation of his own conduct. His purpose is to establish the reasons which induced him to decline pursuit of the enemy, or rather, which, in his judgment, made pursuit impracticable. Nor is it germane to our purpose to discuss these reasons; to attempt either a demonstration of their fallacy or an argument iu their support. They have not been accepted as conclusive either by the public, or by unanimous military judgment. The great name of Stonewall Jackson, himself an actor in the most thriliing scenes of that wonderful triumph of Southern valor, and dating from tiiat day his record upon the "bead-roll of fame," is authoritatively given iu opposition to the policy which General Johnston approves. In this conuec- d by Google 312 - T^IFE OP JEFPEIITON J>VVI'(. tion, we can not forbear to quote the biographer of that illus- trious man, in passages showing that wondrous intuition of great soldiership, more distinctive, perhaps, of Jackson, than of any commander of the present uentury, excepting only Na- poleon. Professor Dabney says: "Jackson, describing the manifest rout of the enemy, remarked to the physicians, that he believed ' with ten thousand fresh men he could go into the city of Washington.' " Again, after a most graphic picture of the condition of the Federal army, its demoralization, panic, and utter incapacity to meet an attack by the victorious Con- federates, and an able statement of tlie inducements to a vig- orous pursuit, the biographer of General Jackson makes this impressive statement: "With these views of the campaign. General Jackson earnestly concurred. His sense of official propriety sealed his lips; and when the more impatient spirits inquired, day after day, why they were not led after the enemy, his only answer was to say: 'Tliat is the affair of the commanding generals.' But to his confidential friends he afterward declared, when no longer under the orders of those officers, that their inaction was a deplorable blunder; and this opinion he was subsequently accustomed to assert with a warmth and emphasis unusual in his guarded manner."* Mr. Davis was far from approving the inaction which fol- lowed Manassas. He confidently expected a different use of the victory. When called away by the pressing nature of his official duties at Richmond, he left the army with a heart elastic with hope, at what he considered the certainty of even * The Federal official reports are oTerwhelmingly in eonflrmation of these views of Genera! Jackson. General MoCloIlan stated tliat "in no quarter were the dispositions for defense such as to offer resistance to a lesjiect.ible hodj of the enemy." rdb, Google DAVIS FAVORS PTTESUIT, 313 more glorious and valuable achievements. His speech at the depot in Richmond, which we have given elsewhere, is evi- dence of his exultant anticipations. The speech at the Spotts- wood, entering more into details, still better authenticates his hopes of an immediate and successful advance.* There could be no misinterpretation of the ardor with which, in glowing sentences, he predicted the immediate and consecutive tri- nmphs of what he proudly termed the " gallant little army." Indeed, before leaving Manassas, President Davis favored the most vigorous pursuit practicable. On the evening of the battle, while the victory was assured, but by no means com- plete, he urged that the enemy, still on the field, (Heintzel- man's troops, as subsequently appeared,) be warmly pressed, as was successfully done. During the night following the en- gagement he made a disposition of a portion of the troops, with a view to an advance in the morning. These troops were removed, but not by himself, to meet an apprehended attaek upon the head-quarters of the army. An advance on Monday, the 22d July, was out of the question, in consequence of the heavy rain. It is not to be understood that President Davis fully ap- preciated, on Sunday night, the 21st, the overwhelming rout of the Federal army, nor that he advocated, as practicable, an immediate movement in pursuit, by the entire army. No one could have anticipated the utter disorganization attending tJie flight of the Federals. He had, too, positive evidence of the confusion prevailing among portions of the Southern troops. *The writer heard this epeech of Mr. Davis, and his recollection is positivo of the encouragement eskiaded by llie President to tic hope of an immedial* forward movement The recollection of the autiior of "The Diary of a Kebel "War Clerk" seems to be euhstantiallj the same. d by Google 314 LIFE OF JFFPEIiSOS DAVIS. Summoned by a message from a youthful connection, who.was raortaily wounded, Mr. Davis rode over a large portion of the field, ill a vain search for the regiment to which the young man was attached. Upon his return, he accidentally met an officer who directed him to the locality of the regiment, where he found the corpse of his relative. The evidences of disor- ganization, upon which General Johnston dwells with so muct force and emphasis, were indeed palpable, but Mr, Davis con- fidently believed that an efficient pursuit might be made by such commands as were in comparatively good condition. Such were his impressions then, and that he contemplated immediate activity as the sequel of Manassas, is a matter of indisputable record. That Mr. Davis did not insist upon the undeferred exeen- tion of his own views, is proof less of his approval of the course pursued, than of an absence of that pragmatic disposi- tion with which he was aflerwai-ds so persistently charged. His subsequent hearty tributes to Beauregard and Johnston, and pronipt recognition of their services, show how far he was elevated above that mean intolerance, which would have made liim incapable of according merit to the oi)inions and actions of others, when averse to his own conclusions. This determined spirit of misrepresentation of the motives and conduct of the President, beginning thus early — respecting the origin of which we shall have more to say hereafter — was to prove productive of the most serious embarrussments to the Confederate cause. The first great success in arms achieved by the South, was to originate questions tenrling to excite dis- trust in the capacity of the Executive, and subsequently dis- trust of his treatment of tho=e who were under his authority. Misrepresentation was not to cease with the attempt alre.idy d by Google AT, ACCUSATrON'S. mentioned to impair public confidence in Mr. Davis. A prag- matic interference with the plans of his generals was persistently charged upon him. The almost uninterrupted inactivity of the main army in Virginia, following the battle of Manassas, by ■whieh the enemy was permitted, ^vithout molestation, to or- ganize a new army — a subject of constant and exasperated censure by the public — was falsely attributed to Mr, Davis' interference with Generals Johnston and Beauregard. It is a sad evidence of the license characteristic of a purely partisan criticism, that this falsely alleged interference has even been ascribed to the instigations of a mean envy of the popularity of those officers. The purely personal differences of public men are not the proper subject-matter of historical discussion. In the prose- cution of our endeavor to give an intelligent and candid narrative of the event? of the war, in so far as President Davis was connected with them, we shall have occasion to dwell npon those differences between himself and others respecting im- portant questions of policy which are known to have existed. We do not see that the personal relations of President Davis with Generals Johnston and Beauregard, are here a subject of appropriate inquiry. Nor are those minor questions of detail as to the organization of the army, which arose between them, of such sigpificanee as to justify elabomte discussion here. That President Davis chose to exercise those plain privileges with which the Constitution invested him; that he should have consulted that military knowledge which liis education and service had taught him ; that he should make available his valuable experience as Minister of War ; and that he should liave failed to interpret the acts of Congi-ess agi-eeably to the ta.?tes of generals in the field, rather than according to his d by Google FE OF JEFFEIiSOJf DAVIS. own judgment, is certainly singular evidence upon which to base charges of "pragmatism," "persecution," and "envy" of those generals.* *One ev den ot th i pe se ut ti woull ajpear to con at in the fict that the Prea lent hftv ng relu tantij comm ss oned Gen rala Lovell and G W Sm th pon the reutmmendat ons of t enerals Beaure ard nd Johnston chose al o to comm ■* un t the same tin e v th a a m kr rank General Van Dorn giv uiev lork before the vir wl le A an Do n hail promptly aou^t serv ce in the Confederate arn j before 1 st 1 1 e co nmenced had d ne excellent se-v ce and bpen constantly at front of the enemy Another proof of perae ut n g t! at tl e P pb le t fu d t p mit a 1 an o n izat on of the array aa ho 1 el e ed to te n onfl t w th the la va of Coni{resa Tl e om n nly ass ned ongi of tl e d ff renco 1 etween Pros dent Davg anl General Bea re„ard wl cl ave r ae to bo ran I scandal and f^liehood dur n the war was the suppreaa u of tl e ] rel m narj por t n of Generil B a rppo t of the battip of Mani. as The correct ve s on of ti at ma^, there will he the diplomatia nipture; Lord Lyons mil demand Ms passports, and Mr. Adams will be sent away from, London; then will follow an immediate recognition of the Southern Con- federacy, with encoiiragemmt and aid in fitting out its vessels, and supplying their wants in the British ports and islands. Lastly, a war will be evolved from these two events." Continuing its comments upon what it terms the " raving madness " of the North, the Examiner says : " Then came the proclamation of Lincoln. Nothing but insanity could have dictated it; and without it the secession of Vii^nia was impos- sible. Then their crazy attempt to subdue a country not less diffi- cult to conquer than Eussia itself, with an arnied mob of loafers." d by Google OtJO tlFB OF JEPJTEBSON BAVIS. In tbe contemplation of the pleasing sketch which its imagi- nation had executed, the Ikcaminer asks; "Spectaims of tliese events, who can doubt that the Almighty fiat has gone forth against the Ainencan Unions or thai the Soutlie}-n Conjedei-aey is decreed by the Divine Wisdom?" It declares that the "dull- est worldling, the coolest Atheist, the most hardened cj'nic, might be struck with awe by the startling and continued interposition of a power beyond the control or cognizance of men in these affiiirs;" and triumphantly asks: "Who thought, when the Trent was announced to sail, tliat on its deck, and in the trough of the weltering AtlantiCj the key of the bloclcude would be lost?" The natural and inevitable result of the assurances tendered to the people, was to lull the pata-iotic ardor which marked the first great uprising for defense, when two hundred thousand men sprung to arms. There can be no justice in holding the Confederate Government responsible for the popular apathy, which it had no agency in producing, or for the weakness of the armies, which, next to the naval weakness of the South, was the immediate cause of the disasters of the early months of 1862. Since the commencement ot hostihtie--, the Government had been indefatigable m its effbits to piomnte enlistments of vol- unteers for the war, in^teid of the twelve-months* system, which could be adetjuate for the demands of a temporary exi- gency only, and not tor «uch a teriific 'struggle as must result from the temper and resources of the two contestants. Vol- unteering was as yet the only method of raising troops sanc- tioned by law, or likely to meet popular approval. The country was not yet prepared for an enforced levy of troops ; and it is only necessary to remember the opposition, iu certain d by Google MR. DAViS' IDEAS OP THE WAE. 331 quarters, to the execution of the subsequent conscription law, adopted under the pressure of disasters which made its neces- sity plain and inevitable, to conjecture the temper in which such a measure would have been met, in the over- confident and foolishly exultant tone of the press and public in the winter of 1861. Mr. Davis especially sought to dbabuse the public raind of its fallacious hope of a short contest, by his efforts to place the military resources of the South upon a footing capable of indef- inite resistance to an attempt at conquest, which was to end only with the success or exhaustion of the North. Conscious of the perpetual disorganization and decimation of the armies which must result from the system of short enlistments, he had, early in the war, attracted unfriendly criticism by his refusal of any more six or twelve-months' volunteers than were necessary to meet the shock of the enemy's first advance. It was dear to his mind that, under the wretched system of short enlistments, which he characterized as a "frightful cause of disaster," the country must, at some period of the war, be vir- tually without an army. Such was the case in January and February, 1862, when the enemy eagerly pressed his immense advantage while the process of fiirloughs and reenlistments was in progress, and the army almost completely disorganized. ■ Such a ci-isis was inevitable, and had it not occurred then, it would merely have been deferred, to be encountered at a period when the capacity of the Confederacy was even less adequate for its perils. The lesson was not without its value, since it drove the country and the press to a recognition of the feet that independence was not to be won by shifts and dalliance, by temporary expedients, and by spasmodic popular uprisings for temporary exigencies. d by Google LIFE Of JEFFERSON DAVIS. The efforts of the Government were unceasing to prepare for the tremendous onset of the enemy in ahiiost every quarter of the Confederacy, which it must have been blind, indeed, not to anticipate. The responses to the calls of the Government were neither in numbers nor enthusiasm encouraging. The people were blind in their confidence, and deaf to appeals admon- ishing them of perils which, in their timeied security, they believed impossible of realization. But this soothing sense of security was soon to have a terrible awakening. The Confed- erate Government had recognized the peculiar perils menacing the western section of its territory. There for weeks rested the anxious gaze of President Davis, and thence were to come the first notes of alarm — the immediate premonitions of disaster. Immediately, upon the occupation of Kentucky by the Confederate forces, had begun the development of a plan of defense by the Southern generals. The command of General Polk, constituting the Confederate leti, was at Columbus. On the upper waters of the Cumberland River, in South-eastern Kentucky, was a small force constituting the Confederate right, commanded fir.st by General Zollicoffer, and afterward by General Crittenden. At Bowling Green, with Green River in front, and communicating by railway with Nashville and the ■South, was the main Confederate force in Kentucky, com- manded by General Buckner until the arrival of General Albert Sidney Johnston, whom President Davis had commis- sioned a full general in the Confederate service, and assigned to the command of the Western Department. Apart from the historical interest which belongs to the name of Albert Sidney Johnston, and from the dramatic inci- dent of his death at the very climax of a splendid victory, which immediately paled into disaster upon his fall, as the d by Google ALBERT SIDNEY J0HX8T0N. 333 long and valued friend of Jefferson Davis, he is entitled to special mention in the biography of the latter, Albert Sidney Johnston was born in Mason County, Ken- tucky, in 1803. He graduated at West Point in 1826; was commissioned as Lieutenant of infantry ; served in the Blaek Hawk war with distinction; resigned and settled in Texas in 1836. He volunteered as a private in her armies soon afier the battle of San Jacinto. His merit soon raised him from the ranks, and he was appointed senior Brigadier-General, and succeeded General Houston in the command of the Texan army. In 1838 he was appointed Texan Seci-etary of AVar, and in 1839 organized an expedition against the hostile Chero- kees, in which he routed them completely in a battle on the river Necbes. He warmly advocated the annexation of Texas to the United States, and after this union was effected, he took part in the Mexican war. His services at the siege of Mon- terey drew upon him the pubKc favor and the thanks of Gen- eral Butler. He continued in tbe army, and in 1857, was sent by President Buchanan as Commander-in-Chief of tbe United States Army to subdue the Mormons. His successful advance in the Great Salt Lake City, and the sldll and address with which he conducted a difficult enterprise, largely increased bis fame. When the war commenced between the North and South, he was in California, but when he learned the progress of the revolution, be resigned bis commission and set out from San Francisco, to penetrate by land to Eiebmond, a distance of two thousand three hundred miles. The safe arrival of General Albert Sidney Johnston, within the lines of the Confederacy, was greeted with a degree of public acclamation hardly less enthusiastic than would have signalized tbe intelligence of a great victory. It was known d by Google S34 LIFE OF JEFFERSON BAVIS. that the Federal authorities, anxious to prevent so distinguialied and vahiable an accession to the generalship of the South, were intent upon his capture. For weeks popular expectation had been strained, in eager ga^e, for tidings of the distinguished oommander, who, beset by innumerable perils and obstacles, was making his way across the continent, not less eager to join his countrymen, than were they to feel the weight of his noble blade in the unequal eonibat. Few of the eminent soldiers, who had sought service under the banners of the Confederacy, had a more brilliant record of actual service; and to the advantages of reputation, General Johnston added those graces and distinctions of person with which the imagination invests the ideal commander. He was considerably past middle age ; his height exceeded six feet, his frame was large and sinewy ; his every movement and posture indicated vigorous and athletic manhood. The general expre- eion of his striking face was grave and composed, but inviting rather than austere. The arrival of Greneral Johnston in Hiehmond, early in September, was a source of peculiar congratulation to Presi- dent Davis. Between these illustrious men had existed, for many years, an endearment, born of close association, common trials and triumphs, and mutual confidence, which rendered most auspicious their cooperation in the cause of Southern in- dependence. " Albert Sidney Johnston," says Professor Bledsoe, in a. recent publication, " who, take him all in all, was the simplest, bravest, grandest man we have ever known, once said to the present writer: 'There is no measuring such a man as Davis;' and this high tribute had a fitting counterpart in that which Davis paid Johnston, when discussing, in the Federal Senate, d by Google PLANS OF GENERAL JOHNSTON. 33,5 the Tlteh expedition. Said he 'I hold that the country is indebted to tho administration for having se- lected the man who is at the head of the expedition ; who, as a soldier, has not a superior in the army or out of it; and whose judgment, whose art, whose knowledge is equal tl this or any other emergency; a man of such decision, such resolu- tion that his country's honor can never be tarnished in his hands; a man of such calmness, sueh Mndncs.s, that a deluded people can never suffer by harshness from him."" President Davis immediately tendered to General Johnston the command of one of the two grand mihtary divisions of the Confederacy, and he as promptly repaired to the scene of liis duties. The general features of General Johnston's policy contem- plated a line of defense running from the Mississippi through the region immediately covering Nashville to Cumberland Gap-the key to the defense of East Tennessee and South- western Vii^ima, and thus to the most vital line of commu- nication in the South. It is easy to conceive the large force requisite for so important and difficult a task, against the im- mense armies of Grant and Enell, numbering, in the aggregate, more than one hundred tbonsand men. Despite the earnest appeals of General Johnston, and notwithstanding that upon 1 maintenance of his position depended the sne- ceaiful defense of the entire southern and south-western sec- tions of the Confederacy, his force, at the last of January, 1862, did not exceed twenty-six thousand men. Informed of his perilous situation, the Confederate Government could do no more than second the appeals and remonstrances of General Johnston. Slight accessions were made to his force from the States which were menaced, but, as results speedily dcmon- rdb, Google 336 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. strated, he was unabie to meet the enemy with an adequate force at any one of the vital points of his defensive line. In the immediate front of General Johnston's position was the army of Buell, estimated at forty thousand men, which, during the entire winter, was in training for its meditated ad- vance along the line of the railroad in the direction of Nash- ville. Under Grant, at Cairo, was an army of more than fifty thousand men, which, in cooperation with a formidable naval force, was designed to operate against Nashville, and, by se- curing possession of the line of the Tennessee and Cimiberland Rivers, to hold Kentucky and West Tennessee. General John- ston's position was indeed a cruel dilemma, and was sufficiently explained in a letter to President Davis, representing the inad- equacy of his force, for either front of attack, upon a line ■whose every point demanded ample defense. Only a self-denying patriotism could have induced General Johnston to occupy his felse position before the public, which accredited to him an army ample even for aggressive warfare. With an almost certain prospect of disaster, he nevertheless resolved to make the su- preme effort which alone could avert it. His plan was to meet Grant's attacli upon Nashville ^vith sixteen thousand men, hoping, in the meanwhile, by boldly eonfi-onting Buell with the residue of his forces, to hold in check the enemy in his immediate front. During the ivinter, by a skillful disposition of his forces and adroit maneuvers, he deceived the enemy as to his real strength, and thus deferred the threatened advance until the month of February, The month of January, 1862, was to witness the first check to the arms of the Confederacy, after seven months of uninter- rupted victory. The scene of the disaster was near Somerset, Koutucky. The forces engaged were hiconsiderable as com- d by Google A TRAIN OF DISASTERS. pared -with the conflicts of a few -weeks later, but the result was disheartening to the impatient temper of the South, not yet chastened by the severe trials of adversity. General Crit- tenden was badly defeated, tliough, as is probable, through no erroneous calculation or defective generalship on his part. A melancholy feature of the disaster was the death of General Zollicoffer. With the repulse and retreat of the Confederate forces after the battle of Fishing Creek, as the action was called, followed the virtual possession of South-eastern Kentucliy by the Federal army. The Confederate line of defense in Ken- tucky was thus broken, and the value of other positions ma- terially impaired. Early in February the intantry columns of Grant and the gunboats of Commodore Foote commenced the ascent of the Tennessee Eiver. The immediate object of assault was Fort Henry, an imperfectly constructed fortification, on the east bank of the river, near the dividing line of Kentucky and Tennessee. After a signal display of gallantry by its com- mander. General Tilghman, the fort was surrendered, the main body of the forces defending it having been previously sent to Fort Donelson, the principal defense of the Cumberland River. The capture of Fort Henry opened the Tennessee River, penetrating the States of Tennessee and Alabama, and navigable for steamers for more than two hundred miles, to the unchecked advance of the enemy. General Grant promptly advanced to attack Fort Donel- son, After a series of bloody engagements and a siege of several days. Fort Donelson was surrendered, with the gar- rison of more than nine thousand men. This result was in- deed a heavy blow to the Confederacy, and produced a most akirming crisis in the military affairs of the Western Deuart- d by Google 338 LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS. merit. General Johnston was near Kashville, with the force ■which had lately held Bowling Green, the latter place having been evacuated during the progress of the fight at Fort Don- elson. Nashville was immediately evacuated, and the rem- nant of General Johnston's army retreated southward, first to Murfreeshoro', Tennessee, and afterwards crossed the Tennes- see, at Decatur, Alabama. In January, General Beauregard had been transferred from Virginia to Kentucky, and, at the time of the surrender of Nashville, was in command of the forces in the neighborhood of Columbus, Kentucky, which protected the passage of the Mississippi. The entire Confederate line of defense in Ken- tucky and Tennessee having been lost with the surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson, its various posts became unten- able. In a subsequent portion of this narrative, we shall trace the results of the Confederate endeavor to establish a new line of defense in the West by a judicious and masterly combina- tion of forces. Meanwhile, the preparations of the enemy in the East were even more formidable and threatening than in the "West. It was in Virginia that the "elastic spirit" of the North, as the Hichraond Examiner termed the alacrity of the consecutive pop- ular uprisings in fevor of the war at the North, was chiefly am- bitious and hopeiul of deci'5i\e resulf. in fa\oi of the Union Here was to be sought retrie\al of the national honor lost it Manassas , here woh the capital of the Confi demc-v , v, hith, once taken, the "rebellion -would collap'*" The eneigy and ad- ministrative ability of Geneial McClellan hid accomplished great results in the cieation of a fiine army and the scLurity of the capital But, with the opening of the acison fd\ oiable to military opeiations he was evpccted to \ Loniplish far moie d by Google EXTENT or THE RBVEKSE8. 339 i results — nothing less than the captui'e of Richmond, the expulsion of the Confederate authority from Virginia, and the destruction of the Confederate army at Manassas. Until the opening of spring, military operations in Virginia ■were attended by no events of importance. But the East was not to he without its contribution to the unvarying tide of Confederate disaster. In the month of February, Eoanoke Island, upon the sea-line of North Carolina, defended by Gen- eral Wise, with a single brigade, was assaulted by a powerful combined naval and military expedition, under General Burn- side, and surrendered, with its garrison. This success opened to the enemy the sounds and inlets of that region, with their tributary streams, and gave him easy acce^ to a productive country and important communications. It was not difficult to estimate correctly the serious nature of these successive reverses covering nearly every field of im- portant operations. They were of a character alarming, in- deed, in immediate consequences, and, necessarily, largely af- fecting the destiny of the war in its future stages. Eetreat, evacuation, and surrender seemed the irremediable tendency of a&irs every-where. Thousands of prisoners were in the hands of the enemy, the capital of the most important State in the West occupied, the Confederate centre was broken, the great watra--avenues of the south-west open to the enemy, the campaign transferred from the heart of Kentucky to the north- era borders of the Gulf States, and hardly an available line was left for the recovery of the lost territory. Within a few weeks the extravagant hopes of the South were brought to tlie verge of extreme apprehension. The public mind was not to be soothed by the affected indifference of the press to calamities, the magnitude of which was too palpable, d by Google 340 LIFE OF JEFFi;l;aON DAVIS, in the presence of actual invasion of nearly one half the South- ern territory, and of imminent perils threatening the speedy eulminatioii of adverse fortune to the Confederacy. Richmond, ■which, during the war, -was at all times the reflex of the hopes and aspirations of the South, was the scene of gloom and de- spondency, in painful contrast with the ardent and gratulatory tone so lately prevalent. Popular disappointment rarely fails in its search for scape- goats upon which to visit responsibility for misfortunes. A noticeable result of the Confederate reverses in the beginning of 1862 was the speedy evolution of an organized hostility to the administration of President Davis. The season was eminently propitious for outward demonstrations of feeling, heretofore suppressed, in consequence of the brilliant success, until re- cently, attending the movement for Southern independence. The universal and characteristic disposition of the masses to receive, with favor, censm-e of their rulers, and to chaise public calamities to official failure and maladministration, was an inviting inducement, in this pa'iod of public gloom, to the indulgence of partisan aspirations and personal spleen. To one familiar with the political history of tlie South dur- ing the decade previous to secession, there could be no diffi- culty in penetrating the various motives, instigating to union, for a common purpose, the heterogeneous elements of this op- position. Prominent among its leaders were men, the life-long opponents of the President, notorious for their want of adhe- sion to any principle or object for its own sake, and especially lukewarm, at all times, upon issues vitally affecting the safety of the South. These men could not forget, even when their allegiance had been avowed to the sacred cause of country and liberty, the rancor engendered in the old contests of party. d by Google hjiiijistratiox assaii^ed. Some, in addition to disajjjjoint«d political ambition, arising from the feilure of tlie President to tender them the foremost places in the Government, had personal resentments to gratify. Much the larger portion of the opposition, which continued, until the last moments of the Confederacy, to assail the Gov- ernment, had its origin in these influences, and they speedily attracted all restless and impracticable characters — bora Jaco- bins, malcontents by the decree of nature, and others of tbe class who are " never at home save in the attitude of contra- diction." At first feeble in influence, this faction, by pertinacious and un- scrupulous efforts, eventually became a soui-ce of embarrassment, and promoted the wide-spread division and distrust which, in the latter days of the Confederacy, were so ominous of the approaching catastrophe. Its earliest shafts were ostensibly not aimed at the President, since there was no evidence that the popular affection for Mr. Davis would brook assaults upon him, but assumed the shape of accusations against his consti- tutional advisers. A deliberate movement, cloalsed m the disguise of respectful remonstrance and petition, sustained by demagogical speeches — which, though artfully designed, in many instances revealed the secret venom — was arranged, upon the assembling of the First Congress under the per- manent Government, to revolutionize the cabinet of President Davis, Mr. Benjamin, the Secretary of War, and Mr. Mallory, Secretary of the Navy, were the objects of especial and most envenomed assault. They were assailed in Congress, and by a portion of the Richmond press, as directly chargeable with the late i-everses. Yet it slioiild have been plain that the most serious of these disasters were attributable chiefly to the over- d by Google LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS. wbelming naval preponderance of the enemy — an advantage not to have been obviated entirely by any degree of foresight on the part of the Confederate naval secretary — and by a deficiency of soldiers, for which the country itself, and not Mr. Benjamin, was to be censured. The indisputable faets in the ease were ample in the vindi- cation of Mr. Mallory, as to the insufficient defenses of the "Western rivers, now in Federal possession. The obvious dangers of the Cumberland and Tennessee Itivers, as an avenue of access to the heart of the South, were not over- looted by the Government. The channels of these rivers are navigable during a large portion of the year, and the two streams gradually approach each other, as they pass from Ten- nessee into Kentucky, on their course to the Ohio, coming at one point within less than three miles of each other, and emptying their waters only ten miles apart. The facilities afforded by their proximity for combined military and naval operations, were necessarily apparent. The Government con- templated the defense of these streams by floating defenses the only means by which they could be debarred to the enemy. The Provisional Congress, however, by a most singular and fetal oversight of the recommendation of the Government, made no appropriation for floating defenses on the Tennessee and Cumberland, until the opportunity to prepare them had passed. It authorized the President to cause to be constructed thir- teen steam gunboats for sea-coast defense, and such floating defenses for the Mississippi River as he might deem best adapted to the purpose ; but no provision was made for armed steamers on the large Western interior rivers until the month of January, 1862, when an act was approved appropriating d by Google SECJiETAEIES MALLOKY AND RRNJAMIN. 343 one million of dollars, to be expended for this purpose, at the discretion of the President, by the Secretary of War, or of the Navy, as be might direct. This was leas than Jour weeks before the actual advance of the Fedei-al gunboats, and was, of course, too late for the needed armaments. The appropria- tion of one hundred thousand dollars, for equipment and re- pairs of vessels of the Confederate navy, hardly sufficed to enable the Secretary of that department to maintain a few frail i on the Tennessee, hastily prepared from commercial its, and very imperfectly armed. A congressional investigating committee censured Mr. Ben- jamin and General Huger as responsible for the capture of Eoanoke Island and its garrison. The latter affair was indeed a disaster not to be lightly palliated, and was one of those in- explicable mishaps, which, upon retrospection, we see should have been avoided, though it is at least doubtful who is justly censurable. It is, however, only just to state that no view of the Roanoke Island disaster has ever been presented to the writer, which did not acquit Gteneral Wise of all blame. His exculpation was complete before every tribunal of opinion. Whatever may have been the real merit of these issues made against Secretaries Mallory and Benjamin, it is very certain that those two gentlemen continued to be the objects of marked disfevor from those members of Congress, and that portion of the Richmond press known to be hostile to the administration of Mr. Davis. Popular prejudice is proverbially unreasoning, and it was indeed singular to note how promptly the public echoed the assaults of the hostile press against these officials, upon subsequent occasions, when they were held acconnt- d by Google 344 LIFE 03" JEFFERSON DAVIS. able for disasters with which they had no jwssible counee- tion.* Tliis period of Confederato misfortunes gave the iirat verifi- cation of a fact which afterward had frequent illustration, that the resolution of the South, so indomitable in actual contest, staggered under the weight of reverses. The history of the war was a record of the variations of the Southern mind be- tween extreme elation and immoderate depression. Extrava- gant exultation over success, and immoderate despondency over disaster, usually followed each other in prompt succession. Over- estimating, in many instances, the importance of its own vic- tories, the South quite as frequently exaggerated the value of those won by the enemy. There was thus a constant de- parture from the middle ground of dispassionate judgment, which would have accurately measured the real situation; making available its opportunities, by a vigorous prosecution of advantage, and overcoming difficulties by energetic prepara- tion. But this despondency happily gave place to renewed de- termination, as the success of the enemy brought him nearer the homes of the South, and made more imminent the evils of subjugation. A grand and noble popular reanimation was the response to the renewed vigor and resolution of the Gov- ernment, When the Confederate Government was organized at Mont- gomery, the operation of the provisional constitution wsis * The friends of Mr, Mallory, in illustration of Ifaia unreasoning preju- dice, were accustomed to declare that, "were a Confederate yesael to Bink in a storm, in the middle of the ocean, the Richmond Examiner and Mr, Foots would advocate the censure of tlie Secretaij of the Navy, na responsible for her loss," d by Google THE "rERMANP:N'r" GOVEHNMENT. 345 limited to the period of one year, to be superseded by the per- manent government. No material alteration of the political organism was found necessary, nor was there any change in the personnel of the adminiati'ation — Mr. Davis having been unanimously chosen President at the election in November, and retaining his administration as it existed at the close of the functions of the provisional constitution. Though the change was thus merely nominal, the occasion was replete with historic interest to the people whose libertiGS were involved in the fate of the government, now declared "permanent." It _ was, indeed, an assumption of a new character — a declaration, with renewed emphasis, of the high and peerless enterprise of independent national existence; an introduction to a future, promising a speedy fulfillment of inestimable blessings or "woes unnumbered." On the 18th of Februaiy, 1862, the first Congress, under the permanent constitution of the Confederate States, assembled in the capitol at Richmond, On the 22d occurred the ceremony of the inauguration of President Davis. To the citizens of Richmond and others who were spectators, the scene in Capitol Square, on that memorable morning, was marked by gloomy surroundings, the recollection of which re- calls, with sad interest, suggestive omens, which then seemed to betoken the adverse fete of the Confederacy. The season was one of imusual rigor, and the preceding month of public calamity and distress had been fitly commemorated by a pro- tracted series of dark and cheerless days. Never, within the recollection of the writer, had there been a day in Ricli- mond so severe, uneomfi>rtab!e, and gloomy, as the day ap- pointed for the ceremony of inauguration. For days previous heavy clouds had foreshadowed the rain, which fell contin- d by Google 346 LIFE OF JEFrERSo:s havis, uously during the preceding night, and which seemed to increase in volume on the morning of the ceremony. The occasion was in singular contrast mth that which, a year pre- vious, had witnessed the installment of the provisional govern- ment— upon a day whose genial sunshine seemed prophetic of a bright future for the hifant power then launched upon its voyage. But however wanting in composure may have been the public mind, and whatever the perils of the situation, the voice of their twice-chosen chief quickly infused into the heart of the people, that unabated zeal and unconquerable resolution, with which he proclaimed himself devoted anew to the deliver- ance of his country. The inaugural address was a noble and inspiring appeal to the patriotism of the land. Its eloquent, candid, and patriotic tone won all hearts; and even the un- friendly press and politicians accorded commendation to the dignity and candor with which the President avowed his official responsibility ; the manly frankness with which he de- fended departments of the government unjustly assailed; and the assuring, defiant courage, with which he invited all classes of his countrymen to join him in the supreme sacrifice, should it become necessary. The inaugural ceremonies were as simple and appropriate as those witnessed at Montgomery a year previous. The mem- bers of the Confederate Senate and House of Representatives, with the members of the Virginia Legislature, awaited in the hall of the House of Delt^tes the arrival of the President. In consequence of the limited capacity of the hall, compara- tively few spectators — a majority of them ladies — witnessed the proceedings there. Immediately fronting the chair of the speaker were the ladies of 'Mx. Davis' household, attended by d by Google CEEEMOXIES OF INAUGURATION. 347 relatives and friends. In close proximity were members of the cabinet, A contemporary account thus mentions tbis scene : " It was a grave and great assemblage. Time-honored men were there, wlio bad witnessed ceremony after ceremony of inauguration in tlie palmiest days of the old confederation ; those who bad been at the inauguration of the iron-willed Jackson ; men who, in tbeir fiery Southern ardor, had thrown down the ganntlet of defiance in the halls of Federal legislation, and iu the face of tlie enemy avowed tbeir determination to be free; and finally mtnessed the enthroning of a republican despot in their country's chair of state. All were there; and silent tears were seen coursing down the cheeks of gray-haired men, while the determined will stood out in every feature." The appearance of the President was singularly imposing, though there were visible traces of his profound emotion, and a pallor, painful to look upon, reminded the spectator of bis recent severe indisposition. His dress was a plain citizen's suit of black. Mi\ Hunter, of Virginia, temporary President of the Confederate Senate, occupied the right of the platform ; Mr. Bocock, Speaker of the House of Eepresentatives, the left. When President Davis, accompanied by Mr. Orr, of South Carolina, Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, on the part of the Senate, reached the hall and passed to the chair of the Speaker, subdued applause, becoming the place and the occasion, greeted him. A short time sufficed to caiTy info effect the previously arrnnged programme, and the dis- tinguished procession moved to the "Washington monument, where a stand was prepared for the occasion. Hon. James Lyons, of Virginia, Chairman of the House Committee of Arrang'cmcnts, called the assemblage to order. d by Google 348 LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS. and an eloquent and appropriate prayer was offered by Bishop Johns, of the Diocese of Virginia. The President, having re- ceived a most enthusiastic welcome from the assemblage, with a clear and measured accent, delivered his inaugural addi-esa : Fellow -CITIZENS : On this, the birthday of the man most iden- tified with the estabhshment of American independence, and be- neath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic virtues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled, to usher into existence the permanent government of the Confederate States. Through this iustrumentality, under the favor of Divine Provi- deaco, we hope to perpetuate the principles of our revolutionary fathers. The day, the memory, and the purpose seem fitly asso- ciated. It is with mingled feelings of humility and pride that I appear to take, in the presence of the people, and before high Heaven, the oath prescribed as a qualification for the exalted station to which the unanimous voice of the people has called me. Deeply sensible of all that is implied by this manifestation of the people's confidence, I am yet more profoundly impressed by the vast re- sponsibility of the ofiice, and humbly feel my own unwortHness. In return for their kindness, I can only offer assurances of the gratitude with which it is received, and can but pledge a zealous devotion of every faculty to the service of those who have chosen me as their Chief Magistrate. When a long course of class legislation, directed not to the gen- eral welfare, but to the aggrandizement of the Northern section of the Union, culminated in a warfare on the domestic institutions of the Southern States; when the dogmas of a sectional party, sub- stituted for the provisions of the constitutional compact, threatened to destroy the sovereign rights of the States, sis of those States;' withdrawing from the Union, confederated together to exercise the right and perform the duty of instituting a government which d by Google INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 349 would better secure tlie liberties for tlie preservation of wlii^h that Union w^s e tablislie 1 ■\Vhntever ot hope some may have enteit ined ttit a returi ng «ense of just ce would lemcve the ian er with which our ii-hts were threatened md render it possible to jreseive the Union cf the Constitutun must hdve been dispellel by the mal gnity and \ irbaiity of the Northern States m the jr eeution of the es ^t mg war The ,,onfi leu:,e of the m .t h peful among us must 1 1 e been deatroyed by the d sregard they ha^e lecently exhibited f i all the time h noie 1 b IwarLa of cml s d 1 jeligi us liberty L ■? tiles filled w th prisonois airested without cml process or in li t ment iuly f un 1 the writ of Ac beas (.ojjj &uo| ended 1 y exe i tive mandate a Stdte Legislature ooatrolle 1 1 y the impr s an ent of memlers whose avowed principles sUp.j^iafed to the Ttle 1 ex ecut ve that the e m ght >e another added to the list of se <.di,d States election, held under threats of 1 mil tjry powei cml oft cers peac ful citizens ind ^ ntle women mc n^eiated for op men s sake proclaimel tl o incapi ity of our late associates to administer a government la f ee hbei 1 and humane m that established for our common use Forpr f of the sn euty f our purpose to maintain oui ancient institution we ma^ foi t to the Constitition of the Conf 1 r r ght of the peacetul c tzen mintuned s securelj as if a w r f invasion had not dis tl rbed the hud The peoile of the States now confedei^fed le in c conv need that the Goie in ent of the Unfed Sfafei hid fallen t fie hands of a sect onal maj nty who would pervert the m t a Cied of dll fru ts, to the do fruct n of the ii„ht» which it wis d by Google LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. i to protect. They bolicved that to remain longer in the TJnioo would subject them to a continuance of a disparaging dis- crimination, euhmission to wHeh woul5 he ineonslstcnt to their welfare and intolerable to a proud people, Thej, therefore, de- termined to sever its bonds, and eatahlish a new confederacy for The experiment, instituted hy our revolutionary fathers, of a voluntary union of sovereign States, for purposes specified in a solemn compact, had heen prevented by those who, feeling power and forgetting right, were determined to respect no law but their own will. The Government had ceased to answer the ends for which it had been ordained and established. To save ourselves from a revolution which, in its silent but rapid progress, was about to place us under the despotism of numbers, and to pre- serve, in spirit as well as in form, a system of government we believed to be peculiarly fitted to our condition and full of promise for mankind, we determined to make a new aasociatioa, composed of States homogeneous in interest, in policy, and in feeling. Tiue to our tiaditioDf of peace and love of justice we sent comrai^-sioneis to the United States to propose a fair and ainaa ble settlomput of all qupstions of public debt or propeity which might be 111 dispute But the (jovernment at 'Wdsl ington deny mg our right to self gj^ernment retuel even to listen ti any proposils toi a peaceful separation Nothm„ was tln,n left to us but to prepare for wai The fiist joai in our history ha-i been the most eventful m the annals of this continent A new government has been established and it"* machmeiy put in opeion Messrs, Walker, Benjamin, and Seddon, Perhaps no more thankless position was ever assumed by an oflicial than the management of the War Department of the Confederate States. The difficult problem propounded by Themistocles — "to make a small state a great one" — was of easy solution, compared to that presented the luckless incum- bent of an office, in which the abundance of responsibilities and embarrassments was commensurate only witli the poverty of resources with which to meet them. To create an army from a population of between five and six millions, able to successfully cope with an adversary supported by a home population of twonty-iive millions, aided by the inexhaustible d by Google THE CHAKOE OF rAYORITISM. 373 1 of Europe ; with blockaded ports, a newly-organized Government, and a country of limited manufacturing mean«; to match in the material of war the wealthiest and mo^t productive nation in the woj-ld; to maintain the strength and eiRcieney of an army decimated by its own unnumbered vic- tories, and from a population depleted by eucceHsive conscrip- tions, was the encouraging task devolving upon President Davis and his Secretary of War. It is, at least, reasonable to doubt ^^hethel e\en the genius of Napoleon, oi of Carnot wis ever summoned to '.uch an entci prise No allegition -nas made more freely and peisiatently againit Mr. Davis than that ot fi\oiitism it timta he was repre- sented as a merciless, inexorable, capiicious master, who w juld tulerate neithti intelligence nor indtpendente in Li& eubordi naf«s, who weie required to be the subserMent agents of his will. Agam, he was declaied an imbecile puppet m the hinds of Mr. Benjamm, who, with an imizing protean adiptabiht-^, assumed the chiricter of Richelieu, M izarm, "Wolsev, or Jtf freys, a^ might meet the con\ enienee of the ctn&or'- At ill times, however, the public was urged to believe Mr DaMa was engaged in devifing rewaids for unworth} iivciite%, who, while obsequious to his whims, insolent in the enjoyment ot his bounty, ind becuie under the cseeutne -egis, weie surely carrying the ciuse to peidition This allegation of favoritism was assumed to hi-\e a con- spicuous illustration in the case of Mr Benjamin for whom the President letained his partuhty e\en aftei he hid beeu censured b) Congress, and when his unpopuhrity was not to be concealed The same motive was affirmed, however, in the selection of his other advisers ; and to obviate the necessity of detail hereafter, we will dispose of this subject at once. d by Google 374 LIFE OF JEFFERSOS DAVIS. Despite the persistent assertion to the contrary, the fact is indisputable, that, in the selection of no single member of Iiis cabinet, did Jefferson Davis make use of the opportunity to reward either a friend or a partisan. In no case did jrersonal favor even remotely influence his choice, save in t!ie appoint- ment of Mr. Seddon as Secretary of War— -an appointment made with the universal acclaim of the public and the news- papers. James A. Seddon and Jefferson Davis were, indeed, friends of twenty years' standii^; but, besides, Mr. Seddon was recommended not more by the confidence of the President, than by the unlimited confidence of the country in his intellect, integrity, and patriotism. Personal details are frequently not to be denied an impor- tant historical bearing, and the motives of Mr. Davis, in the choice of his cabinet, claim no insignificant page iu his official history. We have briefly adverted elsewhere to some of these considerations. When the Confederate cabinet was organized at Montgom- ery, Eobert Toombs was placed at its head ; yet between Davis and Toombs there had not been close intimacy, hardly mutual confidence — certainly nothing like ardent friendship. But Mr. Toombs represented an overwhelming majority of the people of Georgia, the wealthiest and largest State of the Con- federacy at that period, as determined at their last election. He was pecidiarly the representative public man of Georgia ; the most prominent citizen of his State, rei)eate t uat mjs It n g ng ent to the feelings, which this intelligence has e oLed W thout domq injustice to the living it may safely be a d that u 1 rrep,irj,ble Among the shinmg hosta uf the great and good whi now cluster around the banner of our country, then, psists no purer spirit no more heio a soul than that of the illustrious man whose de lih I join 3 < u la lament ni; In his death he has illustrated the charaai,r tor which thi Uj,h life, he was eonspiouous — that of Bin'leness ot purpose aad de votion to duty with his whole energies Beot on ohtammg the victory whioh he deemed essential to hn country s < luse he rjde on to the iccompl ,hmeat of his object fur_,t.fful of self while his very life lliol wis list ebbio^ aniy His last bretth chicrcd d by Google 882 LIFE OP JtlPFEBSON DAVIS. his coraradea on to victory. Tlie last sound he heard was their shout of victory. His last thought wag his country, and long and deeply will hia country mourn his loss," The battle of Shiloh was an incident of the war justifying more than a passing notice. Never since Manassas, and never upon any subsequent occasion, had the Confederacy an oppor- tonity so abundant in promise. The utmost exertions of tlie Government had been employed to malte the Western army competent for the great enterprise proposed by its commander. The situation of Grant's army absolutely courted the tremendous blow with which Johnston sought its destruction, a result which, in all human calculation, he would have achieved had his life been spared. At the moment of his death a peerless victory was already won ; the heavy masses of Grant were swept from their positions; before nightfall his last reserve had been broken, and his army lay, a cowering, shrunken, defeated rabble, upon the banks of the Tennessee. That, at such a moment, the army should have been recalled from pursuit, especially when it was known that a powerful reinforcement, ample to enable the enemy to restore his fortunes, was hasten- ing, by forced marches, to the scene, must ever remain a source of profound amazement. It was the story of Manassas repeated, but with a far more mournful significance. It was not the &i!ure to gather the fruits of the most complete victory of the war, nor the irre- parable loss of Sidney Johnston, which filled the cup of the public sorrow. Superadded to these was the alarming discov- ery that the second great army of the Confederacy, in the death of its commander, was deprived of the genius which alone had been proven capable of its successful direction. Johnston had no worthy successor, and the AVesteru army d by Google COMMENTS UPON SHILOII. 383 discovered no leader capable of conducting it to the goal which its splendid valor deserved. A very perceptible diminution of wliat had hitherto been unlimited confidence, not only in the genius, but even in the good fortune of Beauregard, was the result of his declared failure at Shiloh, Not even his distinguished services, snbse- quently, were sufficient to entirely efface that unfortunate rec- ord. Military blunders, perhaps the most excusable of human errors, are those which popular criticism ia the least disposed to extenuate. The reputation of the soldier, so sacred to him- self, and which should be so jealously guarded by his country, is often mereilesaly mutilated by that public, upon whose grat- itude and indulgence he should have an unlimited demand. We shall not undertake to establish the justice of the public verdict, which has been unanimous, that the course of Gen- eral Beauregard involved, at least, an "extraordinary aban- donment of a great victory." It only remains to state the material from which a candid and intelligent estimate is to be reached. General Beauregard has explained his course, in terms which, it is to be presumed, were at least satisfactory to him- self. His official report says : " Darkness was close at hand ; officers and men were exhausted by a combat of over twelve hours without food, and jaded by the march of the preceding day through mud and water." General Bragg, who conspicuously shared the laurels of the first day's action, has recorded a memorable protest against the course adopted at its close. Says General Bragg. . . . "It was now probably past four o'clock, the descending sun warning us to press our advantage and finish the work before night should compel us to desist. Fairly in motion, tliese d by Google oHi LIFE OF JKFFER=;ON DAVrS. commands again, with a common head and a common pur- pose, swept aJl before them. Neither battery nor battalion could withstand tlioir onslaught. Passing through camp after camp, ricli in military spoils of every kind, the enemy was driven headlong from every position, and thrown in confused masses n^wn the river bank, behind his heavy artillery, and under cover of his gunboats at the landing. He had left nearly the wliole of his light artillery in our hands." The enemy had fallen back in much confusmi, and was crowded, in unorganized inaaaea, upon flie river bank, vainly striving to cross. They were covered by a battery of heavy guns, well served, and their two gunboats, now poured a heavy fire upon our supposed position, for we were entirely hid by the forest. Their fire, though terrific in sound, and producing some CQTtMemaihn al first, did us no damage, as the shells all passed over, and exploded far beyond our position The sun was about disappearing, so that little time was leil us to finish the glorious work of the day Our troops, greatly exhausted by twelve hours' incessant fighting, without food, mosUy responded to the m-der with alacrity, and the move- ment commenced with every prospect of success Just at this time, an order was received from the commanding general to withdraw the forces beyond the enemy's fire. The testimony of General Polk, also a distinguished partici- pant in the battle, was concurrent with that of General Bragg, and no les.s emphatic in its suggestions. In his report is to be found the following j "The troops u nder my corami indw, 3re j. lined by thi erals Bi ■agg and Brecki: n ridge, aad my fourth bri; General Cheatham, from tho ri ^ht. The field was rdb, Google COMMEKTS UPOS- SHILOH. 385 t fth f fth myw d t th d d tbkTVhd h fdjlhttlllftw w ti i 1 id I tftj t f h d 1 J 1 f tl my t t d th m d w t t mpl t tl mtbllmt tjfth bttp fwi Imk yig S8 It th d I d m t f h f Attlj t tgbtdppddwth th 1 d wh h t p w U ted d p d t m d 1 f !i t d 1 11 tl b k th d t f wh 1 f w pp 1 Th 1 ht fth pi wh h w w b tl 1 1 f th w t w It hdlft tlttw ytg tit t h t hi h ra t fi th b k Th q was ththt Idtk fit lytpt mti th dg TI y w mp t ly b m! t t p tthbkdbm ly* wdw th my d pl d 1 b Iw d h h t H th mp tl t f w w q 1 t— tl t th y w 1 t d Iff f m d fi d by d f th 1 1 th y w w thd w f th fi Id President Davis could only share the universal ( tion with the unfortunate termination of the battle of Shiloh. A conclusive evidence of his forbearance and justice is seen in the fact, that he did not avail himself of the opportunity to displace an officer, toward whom he was charged with enter- taining such bitter and implacable animosity, when public sentiment would, in aU probability, have approved the expe- diency of that step. But General Beauregard was in no danger of mean resentment from President Davis, who so frequently braved the anger of the public against it« distinguished serv- 25 d by Google dob LIFE or JEFFERSON DAVIS. ants Genenl Beauicgaid letained the coiitiol of tlie Wttitein armj, without interference fiom the executue, and mthin a tew weeks, h) the succo'-stul execution of hm idtninbie retieat from Coiinth which he justlj declared ' equnalent to a bulliant Mt.tory ' did mnch to repaii his damiged reputa- ti n * feo eminent, in its peifettun and s itces-,, i^ is the "When beneril BeurPi^rJ had tliilel HjUlcIc jt Corinth aid brought his army to Tupelo he turned over the command to General Bra^ -inl sought loicse and reeuppntion at Bladon '^j rings Alibama Those who laaume to I a the tnen Is md admirers of Ueueral Beauregard but who are iir moie mxiouB to estibhsh a mean m»hgnity m the chiiai,tcr Dt Ml Davis tlixn to esilt then favoiite have laid great stress upon the fii-t, thit tht, Piesidtt t then placed Biag^ m cjmmxnl uf the army for the ensuing campaign thus placing Beauregirl m rptiremi,nt There can be liftle difficulty in comj rehendmg the tommen lable motives which prom[ti,d Mr Davis to this ooui-^e The period Dt Generil Beau rej.ard a absence fiom his command (Hiiee weeks it is ui darstcod) would protract the jeuod of inactivity until miisummer Time wis preuiou^ The Western army had done nothing tut lose ^round all the cu lent year and meanwhile Leo was preparing his part of the operations by which the Govci iment hoped to thro t the enemy I iuk upon the frontier Was tl en the W,,atorn armT to lie i lie awaiting the di p sition and oonveni nee of one man? "With the approval of the army and the (.oimtry ibe Pies lent appointeJ to the vm,ated command an able and lerotel soldier who'll, rcputaticn and service justified the trust The wntei has aepn nothing fiom General BeaQre^-ard approving the assamts of his pretendel admirers upon Mr Davis anl it is not unr ^soniblo to suppose that he does not indorse them It 18 also urged that Mr Dma when j es'icd to remote Bii^i, and replace Bp5atis6i"t«ry manner, the long disputed question as t« the effioien(,y of shoie biWeries against vessels of war. Precedents eatiblished when sailing vessels were used in wurfaro, were overthrown by the experieni,e of steam vesseli, especially when iron-plated. Commodore Jirr^-,ut with ptrfect sunoss and comparative ease, passed the forts 1 lew Kow Orleins iftei the chief of the nava] force had despaired ol tliLir leduotion d by Google FEDERATE KAVAL SUCCESSES. 389 Newbei-11, AVashington, aiid otlier places of less note in North Carolina, we-e captui-ed by naval expeditious in conjunction with detachments from the army of General Burnsiile. The success^ of the Burnsido expedition, which had heen prepared by the North with such large expectations, were by no means inconsiderable; but they were soon lost sight of in tlie presence of the more absorbing operations in the interior. The naval resistance of the South had thus far necessarily been feeble. In the subsequent progress of the war, except in rare instanera, it disappeared altogether as an element in the calculation of means of defense. The vulnerability of the South upon the sea-eoaat, and along tlie hues of her navigable rivers, measured the extent of the good fortune of the enemy. The North was shortly to yield a reluctant recognition of the comparatively insignificant influ- ence of its long train of triumphs in the promotion of subju- gation. Upon the soil of Virginia — classic in its inemorieg of contests for freedom, the chosen battle-ground of the Confed- eracy— ^was soon to be shed the effulgence of the proudest achievements of Southern genius and valor — a radiance as splendid as ever shone upon the blazing crest of war. d by Google LIFE or JEFFERSON DAVIS. CHAPTER XIII. THE "anaconda system"— how pae it wAa sircCEsarui,— tbbeitobiai con- PIOIIBATIOS OP THE SOUTH PAyoBABLB TO THE ENBMT ONE THBATltE OP WAR PAVOIUBLB TO THE OOtJFBUEBATBa— THE PBDEKAL POECES IN TIKG1NI4 —THE CONPBCKRATE FOEOBS-^'HB POTOMAO LINS8— CRITIOAL SITUATION IS TIRGIHIA— EVACUATION OP MANASSAS TRANSPBR OP OPBKATIOHS TO THE PENINSULA— MAOKUDER's LINES— ByACUATION OF TOKKTOWB— STRENGTH OP THE OPPOSING FOnOES BBFOKE EIOHMOND BBSTErCriON OP THE " YIB- GINIA"— PANIC IN RICHMOND— MR. DAVIs' CALMNESS AND OONFIDENCB— HE AVOWS aiMSELP " READY TO LEAVE HIS BONES IN THE CAPITAL OF THE OONFBDBRAOY "-REPULSE OP THE GUNBOATS-" MEMENTOES OP HEROISM"— JACKSON'S VALLEY CAMPAIGN— A SERIES OP VICTORIES, WITH IMPORTANT RESULTS-BATTLE OP " SEVEN PINES "-A FAILURE-GENEEAi JOHNSTON WOUNOEI)— PRESIUBNT DAVIS ON THE FIELD— PRESIDENT DAVIS AND GEN- ERAL JOHNSTON—AN ATTEMPT TO POEESTALL THE DECISION OF HISTORY— EBSULTS OP lee's accession to COMMAND— JO HNSTON's GBNEEALSHIP— MR. DAVIS' ESTIMATE OP LEE— LEE's PLANS— THE ADVISORY EELATICN EE^ TWBBN DAVIS AND LEE THEIE MUTUAL CONFIDF.KOE NBVEE INTEItEUPTED CONFEDERATE STRATEGY AFTER m'cLELLAn's DEFEAT BEFORE EICHMOND- MAGICAL CHANGE IN THE PORTUNES OF THE CONFEDERACY-THE INVASION OP MARYLAND ANTIETAM— TANGIBLE PROOFS OF OONFEDEEiTE SUrCEIS QENEBAL BRAGG HIS KENTUCKY CAMPAIGN— CONPEDEB WE HO.""' OP PEEEYVILLB— BRAGG EBTRBATS— ESTIMATE OP THE ECNTVCI OF 1862— OTHER INCIDENTS UF THE WESTERS CAMPlIi m'cLBLLAN— A SOUTHERN OPINION OF m'cLELLAN— B VTTLC OP PREDERI, I BURG BATTLE OP MURPREESBOEo'— BATTLE OF PEAIRIE SROVE— THE SITD __riS EE0OiniGVDATIn\s TO ;SS— HIS VISIT TO THE SOUTH-WEST— ADDRESS BEFOEB THE MISSI5S1PPI LEGISLATURE. rpHE Federal Government frankly acceplcj tie true teachings of the war in its earlier stages, and no feature rdb, Google THE "anaconda system." 391 of the lesson -was more palpable than the inferiority of the North in the art of war and military administration. No longer trusting, to any extent -whatever, to a contest of prowess with an enemy whose incomparable superiority was already established, Mr. Lincoln, his cabinet, and his military advisers, ■were concurrent in tiicir convictions of the necessity of a policy which should make available the numerical superiority of the North. The "anaconda system" of General Scott, adhered to by General MeClellan, and sanctioned by the Government and the people, though by no means new in the theory and prac- tice of war, was based upon a just and sagacious view of the sitnation. To overwhelm the South by mere material weight, to crush the smaller body by the momentum of a larger force, compre- hends the Federal design of the war, undertaken at the incep- tion of operations in 1862. The success attending the execu- tion of this design we have described in preceding pages. We have accredited to the enemy the fnll extent of his successes, and endeavored to demonstrate that they resulted not from Confederate maladministration, but from a vigorous and timely use of his advantages and opportunity by the enemy. But while according to the North unexampled energy in prepara- tion, and an unstinted donation of its means to the purpose, wliieh it pursued with indomitable resolution, no concession of an injproved military capacity is demanded, from the fact that use was made of obvious advantages not to be overlooked even by the stupidity of an Aulic council. We have shown that the preponderating influence in the achievement of the enemy's victories in the winter and spring of 1862, was his naval supremacy. Even at that period it was palpable tliat, without his navy, his scheme of ii d by Google aya life of JEFFEKSON DAVIS. ■would be the veriest abortion ever exposed to the ridicule of mankind. The maritime facilities of the enemy were, in the end, decisive of the contest in his favor. Upon those fields of military operations which have thus far occupied our attention, we have seen how propitious to the enemy's plans, in every instance, was the geographical config- uration. Wherever a navigable river emptied into the sea, which was the undisputed domain of the North, or intersected its territoiy, a short and, in many instances, almost bloodless struggle had ended in the expulsion or capture of the Con- federates defending its passage. Yet, in many instances, these results had a most serious bearing upon the decision of the war. It was impossible for Sidney Johnston to hold Ken- tucky and Tennessee unless the Mississippi, running parallel with his communications, and the Cumberland and Tennessee, running in their rear, should remain sealed to the enemy. It was equally impracticable to hold the region bordering upon the North Carolina sounds after the fell of Koanoko Island. After the fall of New Orleans, the entire avenue of the Mis- sissippi, except the limited section between Vicksbnrg and Port Hudson, was open to the enemy, giving him bases of operations upon both its banks, and opening to his ravages vast sections of the Confederacy. Thus had the naval supremacy of the enemy brought him, in a few days, to the very heart of extensive sections of terri- tory, which never could have been reduced to his sway, had he been compelled to iight his way overland from his frontiers. Thus was the great element of spcux, usually so potent in the defense of an invaded people, annihilated, almost before the struggle had been tairly begun. The upper regions of Eastern Virginia, remote from the d by Google THE FEDERAL ARMIES IK VIRGINIA. 393 navigable tributaries of the Atlantic and the larger rivers, was the only theatre of war, where the superior valor and skill of the Confederates could claim success from the Federal hosts, deprived of their gunboats and water commimieations. Here, though not entirely neutralized, hia water facilities did not at all times avail the enemy j here the struggle was more equal, and here was demonstrated that superior manhood and sol- diership of the South, which, not even an enemy, if candid, will deny. Of the seven hundred thousand men, which were claimed as under arms for the preservation of the Union, in the begin- ning of 1862, it is reasonably certain that more than a half million were aetually in the field, and of these at least one- half, were operating in Virginia, with Richmond as the com- mon goal of their eager and expectant gaze. The army of MeCIellan, numbering little less than two hundred thousand men, in the vicinity of Washington, was entitled to the lavish praise, which he bestowed upon it, in his declaration, that it was "magnificent in material, admirable in discipline and in- struction, excellently equipped and armed," In the valley of the Shenondoah was the army of Banks, more than fifteen thousand strong. General Fremont, with about the same force, commanded the " Mountain Department," embracing the highland region of Western Vii^inia, By the first of March these various commands, with other detachments, had reached an aggregate of quite two hundred and fifty thousand men. We have sufdcieiitly described those causes, by which the already disproportionate strength of the Confederates, previous to the adoption of the conscription act, and the inception of the more vigorous and stringent milita.ry policy of the Con- d by Google 394 LIFE OP JEFFEESON DAVIS. federate Government, was reduced to a condition in most alarming contrast with the enormous preparations of the enemy. General Joseph E, Johnston still held his position, -with a force which, on the first of March, barely exceeded forty thou- sand men. The command of General Stonewall Jackson, in the Slienandoah Valley, did not exceed thirty-five hundred, embracing all arms. General Magruder held the Peninsula of York and James Rivers, covering the approaches to Rich- mond in that direction, with eleven thousand men, and General Huger had at Norfolk and in the vicinity not more than ten thousand. The Confederate force in Western Virginia was altogether too feeble for successful defense, and indeed, the Government had some months previous abandoned the hope of a permanent occupation of that region. The Confederate authorities had long since ceased to cherish hope of offensive movements upon the line of the Potomac. Oircutfl stances imposed a defensive attitude, attended with many causes of peculiar apprehension for the fate of the issue in Virginia. Weeks of critical suspense, and vigilant observa- tion of the threatening movements of the Federal forces, were followed by the transfer of the principal scene of operations to the Peninsula. The evacuation of the position so long held by General Johnston at Manassas, executed with many evidences of skill, but attended with much destruction of valuable material, was followed immediately by an advance of General McClellan to that place. The necessity of a retirement by General Johnston to an interior line had been duly appreciated by the Confed- erate Government, though there were circumstances attending the immediate execution of the movement, which detracted d by Google EVACUATION OP MANASSAS. S95 from its otherwise complete success. The destruction of valu- able material, including an extensive meat-curing establish- mient, containing large supplies of meat, and established by the Govemmentj which ensued upon the evacuation of Manas- sas, elicited much exasperat€d censure. Similar occurrences at the evacuation of Yorktown, a few weeks later, revived a most unpleasant recollection of scenes incident to tlie retreat from Manassas. The extravagant destruction of property, in many instances apparently reckless and wanton, marking the movements of the Confederate armies .-at this period, was a bitter sarcasm upon the practice, by many of its prominent oificers, of that economy of resources which the necessities of the Confederacy so imperatively demanded. Not only the weakness of his forces indicated to General Johnston the perils of his position, but the territorial config- uration again came to the aid of the enemy, and gave to Gen- eral McClellan the option of several avenues to the rear of the Confederate army. It is not improbable that McClellan ap- preciated the extremity of Johnston's situation, and has, indeed, assigned other reasons for his advance upon Manassas than the expectation of an engagement, where the chances would have been overwhelmingly in his favor. At all events, the retire- ment of General Johnston to the line of the Eapidan, imposed upon the Federal general an immediate choice of a base from which to assail the Confederate capital. Originally opposed to an overland movement via Manassas, McClellan was now compelled to abandon his favorite plan of a movement from Urbanna, on the Eappahanoek, by which he hoped to cut off the Confederate retreat to Richmond, in consequence of John- ston's retirement behind the Eappahanock. General McClellan promptly adopted the movement to the peninsula, a plan which d by Google 396 LIFE OF JEFFESSON DAVIS. he had previously considered, but which he regarded "as less brilliant and less promising decisive results." * When General Johnston left Manassas, it is probable that he was not fully decided as to the position which he should select. Eeceiving a dispatch f from President Davis, he halted the army, and immediately the President left Eichmond for Johnston's head- quarters, for the purpose of consultation. General Johnston's position now was simply observatory of the enemy. It was yet possible that McClellan might under- take an overland movement; and, indeed, a portion of his force had followed the retreating Confederates. In that event Johnston would occupy the line upon whicb Lee subsequently foiled so many formidable Federal demonstrations. From his central position he could also promptly meet a serious demon- stration against Richmond from the Chesapeake waters or the Shenandoah Valley. When the numerous transports at Fort- ress Monroe, debarking troops for the peninsula, revealed the enemy's real purpose, the army of General Johnston was carried to the lines of Magruder, at Yorktown. Johnston was, however, decidedly opposed to the movement to the Pen- insula, declaring it untenable, and urging views as to the requirements of the situation, which competent criticism has repeatedly commended. * These revelations of the designs of MoCleOan are deriTcd from the admirable work of Mr, Swinton — the "History of tlie Army of the Poto- mac"— perhaps the ablest and most impartial uontriliution yet made to the history of the late war. It is noteworthy that General Grant attempted nearly the same approach to Richmond and was signally foiled — a fact which he promptly recog^ nized, by his change of plan, after his bloudy repalae at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864. ■\ This dispatch was in substance ; " Halt the army where it is." d by Google FEBEEAL DESIGNS. 397 WHle the transfer of Johnston's army to the Peninsula was in process of execution, the situation in Virginia was, in the highest degree, critical. The strength of Magruder was neces- sarily so divided, that the actual force, defending the line threatened by McClellan with eighty thousand men, was less than six thousand Confederates. Meanwhile the various Fed- eral detachments in other quarters were cooperating with the main movement of McClellan. Banks and Shicld-i were ex- pected, by their overwhelming numbers, to crush Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, and then, forming a junction vnth the lai^e force of Fremont, who was required to capture Staunton, it was designed that these combined forces should unite 'with the army of McDowell, advancing from the direction of Fred- ericksburg, at some point east of the Blue Ridge. Thus a force, aggregating more than seventy thousand men, threatening Richmond from the north, was to unite with McClellan ad- vancing from the east. Such was, in brief, the Federal pkn of campaign, which the North expected to accomplish the re- duction of Richmond and the total destruction of the Confed- erate power in Virginia. It does not devolve upon us to discuss, in deteil, the defects of this feulty combination, but the sequel will show how promptly and triumphantly the Confederate leaders availed themselves of the opportunity presented by this crude arrangement of their adversaries. Happily the bold attitude and skillful dispositions of Ma- gruder were aided by the over-tentative action of his antagon- ist. The latter, greatly exaggerating the force in his front, and convinced of the hopelessness of an assault upon the Confederate works, permitted the escape of the golden moment, and prepared for a regular siege of Yorktown. In the mean- time General Magruder describes his situation to have been as d by Google oyo LIFE OP JEPFERSOH DAVia. follows: "Through the energetic action of the Government, reenforcGinentB began to pour in, and each hour the Army of the Peninsula grew stronger and stronger, until anxiety passed from my mind aa to the result of an attack upon us." The untenability of the Peninsula was very soon made ap- parent, and the important advantage of time having been gained, and the escape of General Huger's command from its precarious position at Norfolk secured. General Johnston aban- doned the works at Yorktown, retreating to the line of the Chickahominy, near Eichmond. This movement was made in obedience to the neceasitica of the situation, and was in accordance with his original desire for a decisive engagement ■with McClellan, at an interior point, where a concentration of the Confederate forces would be more practicable. General McClellan did not pursue the retreating column with much energy after the decisive blow given his advance at Williams- burg, by Longstreet. With the arrival of Johnston upon the Eichmond lines, the Confederate Government began, with energy and rapidity, the concentration of its forces. The superb command of Huger was promptly transferred to Johnston, and troops from the Carolinaa were thrown forward to Eichmond as rapidly as transportation facilities would permit. By the last of May the Confederate forces in front of Eichmond reached a of seventy-five thousand men. McClellan had sustained I on the Peninsula which reduced his strength to the neighbor- hood of one hundred and twenty thousand. A cruel necessity of the evacuation of Norfolk and Ports- mouth was the destruction of the Confederate iron-clad "Virginia," which had so long prevented the ascent of James River by the Federal gunboats. So invaluable was this vessel d by Google ALAKJI IN RICHMOND. 399 in the defence of Eichmond, that McCIellaa had named, as an essential condition of a suceessful campaign on the Peninsula, tliat she should be " neutralized." It was found hnpossihle tu convey the Virginia to a point unoeaipied on either shore of the river by the enemy's forc&s, and, by order of her com- mander, the vessel was destroyed. Imme-liately a fleet as- cended the river for the purpose of opening the water highway to the Confederate capital. The intelligence of the destruction of the " Virginia," and the advance of the Federal fleet, was received, in Richmond, with profound consternation. No one, unless at that time in Richmond, can realize the sense of extreme peril experienced by the public. There were few who dared indulge the hope of a suceessful defense of the city against the dreaded "gun- boats" and "monitors" of the enemy, which, the pepple then believed, were alike invulnerable and irresistible. The wise precautionary measures of the Government, in pre- paring its archives for removal, in case of emergency, to a point of safety, greatly increased the panic of the public. Eu- mors of a precipitate evacuation of the eity, by the Confederate authorities, were circulated, and there was wanting no possible element which could aggravate the public alarm, save the calm demeanor of President Davis, and the deliberate efforts of tlie . authorities— Confederate, State, and municipal— to assure the safety of the city. The courage and confidence of the Presi- dent, in tlie midst of this almost universal alarm, in which many ofScers of the Government participated, quickly aroused an enthusiastic and determined spirit in the hearts of a brave people. Knowing the critical nature of the emergency, he was nevertheless resolved to exhaust every expedient in tlie e of Richmond, and then to abide tlie issue. His noble d by Google 400 LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS, and defiant declaration was ; " I am ready and willing to leave my bones in the capital of the Confederacy." In response to resolutions from the Virginia Legislature, urging the defense of the city to the last extremity^ he avowed his predetermined resolution to hold Kichmond until driven out by the enemy, and animated his hearers by an assurance of his conviction, that, even in that contingency, "the war could be successfully maintained, upon Virginia soil, for twenty years."* The aecounta of the enemy were required to demonstrate to the citizens of Bichmond, that, by the obstructions in the channel of the river, and the erection of the impregnable bat- teries at Drewry's Bluff, their homes were again secured from *'nie inoidents of this trying period, when Richmond was doubly tiu-eatened by the boats of McOlellan, and tJie gunboats in the riyer, are "mementoes of heroism," proudly illustrating the unconciu arable spirit of that devoted city and ita rulers. We give the resolutJon passed by the Legislature on the oecawon referred to— May 14, 1862 : "Besolved by If C en I A Sft/ Th t th Gp 1 A mbly presses ita 1 th t th [ tal f th St t b d f d d to tl It extremity f h 1 f d w th th w f th P dent of th Co i 1 te St te d th t th P d nt b ed th t whatayer dtt I fpprtyfthStt adadllll hereby re It will b h f Ih Imttdt Two da ft t p ! 1 meet g f fl t f E hm 1 Go emor Let h s. d th t u d m t 11 h n "i surrender fth ty d wdh d f d. I mi dm nt if neoessa y Ith m totptpkMy My "1 say n w— nd T will b d by t— wh n th t f E hm d demand of mo to surrender the capital of Virginia, and of the Confedisr- acy, to the enemy, they must find some other man to fill my plaee. I will resign the mayoralty. And when that other man elected in my stead shall deliver np the city, I hope I may have physical courage and strength enough left to shooldei a musket aod go into the ranks." d by Google Jackson's valley campaign. 4o1 the pr&?eneG of the invaders. The significance of that brief engagement, during which the guns were distinctly audible in Richmond, was very soon made evident in the loss of their terrors by the Federal gunboats. President Davis was a spec- tator of the engagement, by which the Confederate capital was rescued from imminent peril of capture. But the repulse of the gunboats in James Eiver, with its assuring and significant incidents, was the precursor of far more brilliant successes, which, it was evident, would largely affect the decision of the general issue in Virginia. In the months of May and June, 1862, was enacted the memorable " Valley campaign " of Stonewall Jackson— a campaign which, never excelled, has no parallel in brilliant and accurate con- ception, celerity, and perfection of execution, save the Italian campaign of Napoleon in 1796. General Jackson's exploits in the Valley of the Shenandoah present an aggregate of military achievements unrivaled by any record in American history. On the 23d of March, Jadjson fought the battle of Kerns- town, near Winchester, with three thousand Virginians against eighteen full Federal regiments, sustaining, throughout an entire day, an audacious assault upon Shields' force, and at dark leisurely retiring with his command, after having inflicted upon the enemy a loss nearly equal to his own strength. Elsewhere has been mentioned the effort made to induce President Davis to remove Jackson, in compliance with the popular dissatisfaction at his failure to achieve, against such overwhelming odds, more palpable fruits of victory. Tlie irrmiediate consequence of Kernstown was the check of Banks' aiivanee in tJie Valley, and the recall of a large force, then on the way from Banks to aid McClellan's designs against Johnston, d by Google 402 LIFE OF JEFPEESON DAVIS. Leaving General Ewell, whose division had been detached from Jolinston, to intercept any demonati-atioii by Banks in the Valley, or across the Blue Ridge, Jaekson united liis com- mand with that of General Edward Johnson, a full brigade, and defeating tlie advance of Fremont, under Milroy, at Mc- Dowell, compelled a disorderly retreat by Fremont through the mountains of Western Virginia. Returning to the Valley, he assaulted, with his united force, the column of Banks, anni'iilated an entire division of the enemy, pursued its fugi- tive remnant;, to the Potomac, and threatened the safety of the Federal capital. Alarmed for "Washington, Mr. Lincoln halted McDowell in his plans of coiJperation with McClellan, and for weeks the efforts of the Federal Government were addressed to the paramount purpose of "catching Ja(;ltson." Eluding the enemy's combinations, Jaelison turned upon his pursuers, again defeated Fremont at Cross Keys, and imme- diately crossing the Shenandoah, secured his rear, and destroyed the advance of Shields within sight of its powerless confed- erate. Resuming the retreat, Jackson paused at Weyer's Cave, and awaited the summons of his superiors to enact his thrill- ing r51e in tlie absorbing drama at Richmond. Within the short period of seventy days, Jackson achieved at Kemstown, McDowell's, Front Royal, Winchester, Strasburg, Harrison- burg, Cross Keys, and Port Republic, eight tactical victories, besides innumerable successful combats. But he had done more. He had wrought the incomparable strategic achieve- ment of neutralizing sixty thousand men with fifteen thoii- sand; he had recalled McDowell, when, with outstretched arm, McCIellan had already planted his right wing, undei* Porter, at Hanover Court-house, to receive the advance of the cooperating column from Fredericksburg. d by Google "seven pines." 403 Meanwhile the lines of Eiehmond had been the scene of no incident of special interest until the battle of "Seven Pines," on the 31st of May. After his arrival upon the Chickahominy, McClellan had been steadily fortifying his lines, and wherever an advance was practicable, preparing approaches to Richmond, His line, extending over a space of several miles, was accurately described by the course of the Chickabominy, from the village of Mcehanicsville, five miles north of Hicbmond, to a point about four miles from the city, in an easterly direction. Having partially executed bis design of bridging the Chickahominy, McClellan had crossed that stream, and in the last days of May, his left wing was forti- fied near the locality designated tbe "Seven Pines." This initiative demonstration by McClellan, which placed his army astride a variable stream, was sufficiently provocative of the enterprise of bis antagonist. To increase the peril of the isolated wing of the Federal army, a thunder-storm, occurring on the night of tbe 29tb of May, had so swollen the Chicka- hominy as to render difficult the accession of reen force m en ts from the main body. Such was the situation which invited the Confederate com- mander to undertake the destruction of the exposed column of his adversary— a movement which, if successful, might liave resulted in the rout of the entire left wing of the enemy, open- ing a way to his rear, and securing his utter overthrow. Seven Pines was an action, in which the color of victory was entirely with the Confederates, but it was the least fruitul engage- ment fought by the two armies in Virginia. There was no engagement of the war in which the valor of the Confederate soldier was more splendidly illustrated, though happily that quality then did not require so conspicuous a test. However d by Google 404 I.IFB OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. able in design, it was In execntion a signal failure — a series of loose, indefinite and digointed movements, wanting in co- operation, and apparently in able executive management. President Davis, in company with General Lee, was present during most of the engagement. Frequently under fire, and in consultation with his generals in exposed positions, he wus conspicuous chiefly by his efforts to animate the troops, and his presence was greeted with evidences of the enthusiasm and confidence which it inspired. The battle of "Seven Pines," in itself barren of influence upon the decision of the campaign, was nevertheless attended by an incident — the painful and disabling wound received by General Johnston, in all probability decisive of the future biatory of the Army of Northern Virginia. Leading to an immediate and positive change of policy, it is hardly a bold declaration that this incident determined the future of the war in Virginia. A disposition has been freely indulged to influence the sen- tence of history, by placing President Davis and General Johnston in a sort of antithetical juxtaposition, as exponents of diSerent theories as to the proper conduct of the war by the South. In view of the failure of the Confederacy, it has been ingeniously contended that the result vindicated the wis- dom of General Johnston's views. But besides its evident un- fairness to Mr, Davis, no criticism could be founded less upon the intrinsic merits of the case. Overzealous and intemperate partisans genenilly evince aptitude in the exaggeration of minor differences between the leaders, whose interests they profess to have at heart. Such results are nftt unfrequent in . the lives of eminent public men. In the ease of General 'd, the uniiappy effects of officious intermeddling and d by Google LEE IN COMMAND. misrepresentation, from such sources, between the President and that distinguished officer, are especially notable. But the assumption that events have indicated the wisdom of General Johnston's views, in their declared antagonism to those of Mr. Davis, is altogether unsustained. The immediate results of a change of commanders, and a consequent inaugu- ration of a different policy* — a policy in accordance with Mr. Davis' own views, may, with far more reason, be alleged in sup- port of a contrary theory. The vigorous and a^ressive policy adopted and executed by Lee not only accorded with the wishes of the President, but fulfilled the long-deferred popular expec- tation, and agreeably disappointed the public in Lee's capacity. For despite the general disappointment at the absence of de- cisive achievements by the Army of Northern Virginia, Gen- eral Johnston commanded fer more of public confidence, than did General Lee at the period of the ktter's accession to command. Nothing could have been more disadvantageous to Lee, than the contrast so freely indicated between himself and other ofBcers. Johnston was criticised merely because of the absence of brilliant and decisive achievements. Lee was assumed to have proven his incompetency by egregious failure. He was ridiculed aa a closet general. His campaigns were said to exist only on paper— to consist of slow methodical tactics, and incessant industry with the spade, and he was pronounced It If to t. te (hat G n ral J hn to p p d p rat ml th mnf retoth fL th ugh d n t th f f 11 w th tl y w U li 1- n ^ U f 1 Jh to ab 1 ty a frat t t b q t d d h wh I ly intelligently Htudied his Lamp.iigus, tJiere uan be little doubt as to h aggressive qualities, tliougli in tliis respect, remits w ere not in ilia favor. rdb, Google 406 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. totally deficient in aggressive qualities. A prominent Rich- mond editor, criticising his North-western Virginia campaign, asserted that the unvarying intelligence from Lee was that he ■was "hopelessly stuck in the mud," and an officer was heard to compare him to a terrapin, needing the application of a hot coal to his back to compel him to action. But with the lapse of a fortnight that army, which received the intelligence of Lee's appointment to command with misgiving and distrust, began to experience renewed life and hope. It was not the few additional brigades given to that army which so soon started it upon its irresistible career of victory. A mighty hand projected its impetus, and directed its magnificent valor against those miles of intrenehraents which it had seen grow more and more formidable, itself meanwhile an inactive spec- tator. Lee found the army within sight of Richmond; he lifted it from the mnd of the Chiekahominy, defeated an enemy in- trenched and in superior force ; pursued the panting and dis- heartened fugitives to the shelter of their shipping ; defeated a second army — then both together — within hearing of the Fed- eral capital ; fought an indecisive battle upon the enemy's soil, and reestablished the Confederate line upon the frontier. Is it a matter of wonder that the President, the army, and the people recognized the significance of these r&sults, and appla,uil«l the substitution of the new system and the new status for the old? A better explanation of so pronounced a contrast is needed than that the "prejudice" or "injustice" of Davis withheld from Johnston, five or even ten thousand men, which he gave to Lee. Yet there could be no hypothesis more presumptuous, in view of the abundant testimony of competent military jud^ d by Google JOH^s^)^^f m:-> i=,jiip 407 meat and none more palpably iiiitenabk, than that which ■would deny {,reatntss as i soldier to J jhnston As a consura- mate master of strite^'j , in that stii'.e w inch eontoiii plates the movtmcnta of heavy mafsst-j, ind look^ to grand itUimate rt^ulti,, Johnston has piobibly few equals Ilia sagacity in the di\ ination of an tnemj '& desyns is rtm irlcable ; and if he be consideied ^ hiving markcon the causes conspiring to give this portion of the campaign many of the features of failure. "With a force greatly reduced by the straggling of his weary and exhausted troops, Lee was unable to administer the crushing blow which he had hoped to deliver.* As a conaeqnence, the people of Maryland, of whom a large majority were tlmi-oughly patriotic and ^\aini ni tlieir Southern sympathies, were not encouraged to make that effective demonstration which would inevitably have followed a defeat of McClellan. Nevertheless there was some compensation in the terrible punishment niflicted upon the enemy at Antietam ; and there was the heightmed pitfatige, so greatly valuetl by the South at thi^ period, ni the e^ es of Europe, arising from the temper and capicity of the weaker combatant to undertake so bold an enttipiise In th<. tangible evidences of success afforded by the cajjtute of Harper's FeiTy, with its numerous gan-ison supplies of arms and military stoi-es, was seen additional compensation for the abandonment of the scheme of invasion. * A serimis disadvantt^-e sutFei-ed by General Lee -was the ciipturo of his pbii of battle by General MoClolliin, Completely informed as to his ad- Teivsiiry s woveaiGntB, and with ninety thousand men against thirty-threa. thouaind, flie wonder ia, that McClellan did not overwhelm the Confeder- ate amy. Tho uieiins by ivhieh tl,e enemy obtained this important paper was a stibjeot of raiish gossip in tliu Coufoderaoy. d by Google THE KEXTUCKT CAMPAIGN. 433 An interval of repose was permitted the Army of Northern Virginia, ailer its return from Maryland, in its encampmenta near Winchester, during which it ivaa actively strengthened and recruited to the point of adequate preparation for ex- pected demonstrations of the enemy. The operations of the Western army, in many respects, were a brilliant counterpart to the campaign in Virginia, though lacking its brilHant fruits. We have mentioned the circum- fitance which placed General Braxton Bragg in command of the Western army, after its successful evacuation of Corinth. General Bragg was equally high in the confidence of the President and the Southern people. Greatly distinguished by his services in Mexico, his skillful handling, at Shiloh, of the magnificent corps of troops, which his discipline had made a model of efficiency, more than confirmed his Mexican fame. Space does not permit us to follow, in detail, the execution of the ableaud comprehensive strategy, by which General Bragg relieved lai^e sections of Tennessee and Alabama from the presence of the enemy, penetrated the heai-t of Kentucky, maintained an active offensive during the summer, and trans- ferred the seat of war to the Federal frontier. A part of these operations was the hurried retreat of Buell's immense army, from its posts in Alabama and Tennessee, for the defense of Louisville and Cincinnati; large captures of prisoners, horses, arms and military stores; and the brilliant progress and successive victories of Kirby Smith and Morgan. For weeks the situation in Kentucky seemed to promise the unqualified success of the entire Western campaign. There was, indeed, reasonable hope of a permanent occupation of the larger portion of Kentucky and Tennessee by the Confederate fopcea. d by Google 414 LIFK OF JEPPERSON DAVIS. But the battle of Perryville — au engiigement not unlike Aiitietain in its doubtful claim as a Federal vietoiy — was fol- lowed by tlie retreat of General Bragg, wliieli was executed ■with skiil, and with results going far to relieve the disappoint- ment of the popular ho^xj of a permanent occupation of Ken- tucky. Biiell, on his arrival at Louisville, whitiier he had re- treated, received heavy reenforcements, which greatly inoreased his already superior numbers ; and Perryville, a battle wliich General Bragg fought, rather to secure his retreat than with the ex2>eotation of a decisive victory, would have been an over- whelming Confederate success, had Bragg been sufiieieutly strong to follow up his advantage. No Confederate commander, save Lee and Jaekaon, was ever able to present a claim of a successful campaign so well grounded as the Ktntucky campiign of Bra^. With a force of forty thousand men, he killed, wounded, and captured more than twenty tiiousand of the enemy; took thirty pieces of artillery, thousands of small arms ; a large supply of wagons, harness, and horses , and an immense amount of subsistence, ample not only for the support of hLs own army, but of other forces of the Confederacy. During the succeeding autumn and winter, Bragg's army was conspicuous for its sm>erior organization, admirable condition and tone ; was abundantly supplied with food and dothing, and in larger numbers than when it started upon its campaign in August. Moreover, General Bragg re- 1 North Alabama and Middle Tennessee, and recovered , of Cumberland Gap, the doorway, tlu-ough the mountains, to Knoxville and the Virginia and Tennessee Rail- road— the main avenue from Eichmond to the heart of thii Confederacy. Evincing his determination to hold the recov- ered territory, Geuei-al Bragg, wllhin a month from his rcturu d by Google GEKERAL ll'CLELLAN. 415 from Kentucky, was confronting the principal army of the enemy, in the West, before Nashville. Incidental to tlie movement of Bragg into Kentucky, and constituting a part of the programme, attempted upon the large theatre of the Western campaign, were the repulse of the first attack of the enemy upon Viclcsburg, the partial fail- ure of General Breckinridge's expedition to Baton Eouge, and the serious reverse sustained by Van Dorn at Corinth. In connection with the more important demonstration into Ken- tucky, these incidents of the Western campaign may be briefly aggregated as the recovery of the country between Nashville and Chattanooga, and the important advantage of a secure occupation of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, thus closing the Mississippi to the enemy for two hundred miles. Subsequent operations in Virginia, at the close of 1862, were entirely favorable to the Confederacy. While the two armies were confronting each other, with the imminent pros- pect of active and important operations, General McClellan was relieved, and one of his corps commanders, General Burn- eide, assigned to the command of the Federal army of the Potomac, As is now universally acknowledged. General Mc- Clellan was sacrificed to the clamor of a political Action. By this act Mr. Lincobi became responsible for much of the ill- fortune which awaited the Federal arms in Virginia. Perhaps among his countrymen, a Southern tribute to Gen- eral McCIelian may constitute but feeble praise. He was un- questionably the ablest and most accomplished soldier exhib- ited by the war on the Northern side. " Had tliere been no McClellan," General Meade is reported to have said, "there would have been no Grant." In retirement, if not exile, General McClellan saw the armies which his genius created. d by Google 416 I.IFE OF JEPFRTISON DAVIS. achieve nndeserved distinction for men, Lis inferiors in all that constitutes true generalship. He saw the feeble and wasted remnant of an army, with which he had grappled in the day of its glory and strength, surrender to a multitudinous host, doubly as large as the army with which he had given Lee his first check at Antietam. A true soldier, McClellan was also a true gentleman, an enemy whose talents the South respects none the less, because he did not wantonly ravage its homes, nor make war upon the helpless, the aged, and infirm. Presi- dent Davis, who, while Federal Secretary of War, conferred upon McGlellan a special distinction, held his genius and at- tainments in high estimation. He received the intelligence of his removal with profound satisfaction. The North was not required to wait long for a competent test of the new commander's capacity. Toiled and deceived by Lee, in a series of maneuvres, the results of which made him only less ridiculous than the gasconading Pope among Federal commanders, Burnside finally assailed Lee, on the 13th December, at Fredericksburg. The result was a bloody slaughter, unequaled in previous aunals of the war, an over- whelming repulse, and a demoralized retreat across the Rap- pahannock. The Western campaign terminated with the battle of Mur- freesboro'. The Federal commander, Rosecrans, the successor of Buell, advanced from Nashville to drive Bragg from his position. A brilliant and vigorous attack by Bragg, on the 31st December, routed an entire wing of the Federal army; on the second day the action was more fiivorable to Rosecrans, who had retreated, after his reverse on the first day, to stronger positions. Receiving information that the enemy was strongly d by Google UfPEOVED TEOSPBCTS OF TUB CONFEDERACY. 417 reiinforcing. General Bragg fell back to Tullahoma, a position more fevorable for strategic and defensive purposes. The transfer, after the battle of Shiloh, of the troops of Price and Van Dorn to the array cast of the Mississippi, had almost divested the Trans-Mississippi Department of interest in the public mind. After Elk Horn, there was but one consid- erable engagement, in 1862, west of the Mississippi. This was the battle of Prairie Grove, a fruitless victory, %von by Gen- eral Hindman, about the middle of December. The country north of the Arkansas River continued to be nominally held by the Federal forces. Thus, in nearly every quarter, the second year of the war terminated with events favorable to the prospects of Southern independence. Though the territorial jurisdiction of the Con- federacy was contracted, the world was not far from regarding the task of subjugation as already a demonstrated and hope- less failure. All the invasive campaigns of the enemy, save the first shock of his overwhelming onsets against weak and untenable posts, in the winter and early spring, had been brought to grief, and nowhere had he maintained himself away from his water facihties. An unexampled prestige among nations now belonged to the infant power, which had carried its arms from the Tennessee to the Ohio, had achieved a week of victories before its own capital, and carried the war back to its threshold. After such achievements the Southern Con- federacy rightly claimed from those powers which have assumed to be the arbiters of international right an instant recognition upon the list of declared and established nationalities. In our brief and cursory glance at military operations, we have omitted to mention the action of the Government designed to promote the successful prosecution of the war, 27 d by Google 418 LIFE OP JEFPERSON DAVIS. This action is mainly compreiieuded by the various sug- gestions of the President's messages to Congress. These i-ec- ommendations related chiefly to measures iiaving in view the increased efficiency of the service. He invited the attention of Congress, especially, to the necessity of measures securing the proper execution of tlie conscription law, and the cousoli- dation of companies, battalions and regiments, when so reduced in strength as to impair that uniformity of organization, which was necessary in the army. Legislation was urged, having iu view a better control of military transportation on the railroads, and the improvement of their defective condi- tion. The President also recommended various propositions relating to organization of the army, and an extension of the provisions of the conscription law, embracing persons between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five years. About the middle of December President Davis visited the camps of the Western Department, spending several weeks in obtaining information as to the condition and wants of that section of the Confederacy, and devising expedients for a more successful defense in a quarter where the Confederate cause was always seriously menaced. His presence was highly bene- ficial in allaying popular distrust, founded upon the supposi- tion that Virginia and the Atlantic region engrossed the at- tention of the Government to the exclusion of concern for the "West and the Mississippi Valley. AVhen the President re- turned to Richmond, there were signs of popular animation in the South-west, which justified a more confident hope of the cause, than the Soutli was permitted to indulge at any other period of the struggle. An incident of this visit was the address of the President before the Mississippi Legislature. The warm affection of d by Google ME. BAVIS IN MISSISSIPPI. 419 Mr. Davis for Mississippi is more tSian reciprocated by the noble and chivalrous people of that State. He was always proud of the confidence reposed in him by such a community, and Mississippi can never abate her affection for one who so illustrated her name in tlie council chamber and upon the field of battle. In this addi-ess he alluded, with much tenderness, to this reciprocal attachment, declaring, tliat though "as President of the Confederate States, he had determined to make no distinction between the various parts of the country — to know no separate State — yet his heart always beat more warmly for Mississippi, and he had looked on Mississippi soldiers with a pride and emotionj such as no others inspired." Declaring that his course had been dictated by the sincere purpose of promoting the cause of independence, he admon- ished the country to prepare for a desperate contest, with a power armed for the purposes of conquest and subjugation. He characterized severely the conduct of the war by the North. Beviewing its progress, and recounting the immense disadvantages, with which the South contended, he maintained that the South should congratulate itself on its achievements, and not complain that more had not been accomplished. The conscription law was explained and defended as to many of its features not clearly understood by the people. 'Wo give an extract from Mr. Davis' remarks as to the Confederate conscription, a subject of vast misrepresentation during the war, and of much ignorant censure since : " I am told that this act has excited some dis eo u tent men t, and that it has provoked oecsure far moro severe, I believe, th;in it deserves. It has been said that it exempts the rich from miHtary service, and forces the poor to fight the battles of the country. The poor do, indeed, fight the battles of the country. It is the d by Google 420 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. p wh t d 1. It B t 1 1 u th fc th w th m f p p ty 1 h k f m tli ord 1 f th b ttl fi Id L k th h th mj t y y p n ti incih tthwwhmj mt y tt d th h p t 1 m mh th m ty f th fit dim y w II & 1 m th m th f I p t 1 w f m th k f m t p I ty Th Ij t f th t p t t h t wh h in] t th h h f tw ty m D w ttdwydtt fl ht mply t p Yid f tl n tu f p 1 f ffi t t k p t 1 Th w til 1 hj t f th 1 H d t b th w t w aid h 1 my ^ t A I h 1 dy d w h t mpl f th h Vll p 1 1 t d ^11 d wh 1 tl p h n bly d h t, 1 th d t m t f th 1th t d m t d t h d f m 1 f th & th 1 I t t tl k I t k mpl th f f y w p tt Cg whw mtdfC d 1 t i h t t II d d t 1 1 ty tic m t N is this a solitary instance, for men of largest fortune in Mississippi are now serving in the ranks." Tlie President strongly and eloquently recommended the provision by the Legislature for the familieH of the absent soldiers of Mississippi. Said he : " Let this provision be made for the objects of his affection and his solicitude, and the sol- dier, engaged in fighting the battles of his country, will no longer be disturbed in his slumbers by dreams of an unpro- tected and neglected family at home. Let him know that his mother Mississippi has spread her protecting mantle over those ■ he loves, and he will be ready to fight your battles, to protect your honor, and in your cause to die." d by Google MK. DA vis' view OF THE SITUATION. 421 The address concluded with an earnest appeal for unrelaxed exertion, and the dechiration that, "in all respects, moral as well as physical, the Confederacy was better prepared than it was a year previous" — a declaration verified not less by the favorable situation than by the evident apprehension of the North and the expectations of Europe. d by Google LIFE OP JEi'FiiliSON DAVIS. CHAPTER XIV. EESPBOT OF MANKIND FOB THE SOUTH— THE MOST PROSPBBOUa PEBJOD O WAK — HOW MB. DiTIS OONTRIBUTRD TO THE DISTINCTION OP IHB SOI PAOTIOK SILENOBB— THE EUROPEAN ESTIMATE OP JEFFERSON PAVIS- HE DIGNIFIED THE OAUSE OP THE SOUTH — HIS STATE PAPBKS— TEATION OP emL MATTBES— THE CONTOAST BETWEEN THE TWO PRESIDENTS — MR. DAVia' OBSEETANOE OP CONSTITUTIONAL EBSTBAIHTS — ARBITRARY AD- MINISTRATION OP MR. LINCOLN— MR. DAVIs' MODERATION- HE SEEKS TO OON- DIIC» THE WAR UPON CITILKBD IDEAS— AN ENGLISH OHABACTBRIZATION OP OPINION— THE PURELY PERSONAL AND SENTIkffiNTAL ADMIBATION OP EUROPE FOR THE SOUTH— INCONSISTENT CONDUCT OF THE EUROPEAN GREAT POWERS— THE LONDON "tIMES" BEFOEB m'cLELLAN's DEFEAT- THE CONPBBEBAOY EN- TITLED TO HMOQNITION BIT EPBOPE ENGLAND'S SYMPATHY W TION OP PLEDGES AND ARBITBARY ACTS OP THE PEDBBAL GOYEBNMENT— THE MASK REHOVBD APTBK THE BATTLE OF ANTIBTAM— THE REAL PURPOSE OP EMANCIPATION — MB. DAVIs' ALLUSION TO THE SUBJECT — INDIGNATION OF THE SOUTH AT THE MEASURE — MILITARY OPERATIONS IN TEXAS AND MISSISSIPPI VIOKSBURQ ^POET HUDSON — LOSS OP ARKANSAS POST FEDERAL FLEET RE- PULSED AT CHARLESTON^ PREPARATIONS P OONPIDENCE OP THE SOUTH— MB. DA TANT EXTRACTS GENERAL LEB PREPARES FOR BATTLE HIS CONFIDENCE CONDITION OF illS AKJIY^BATTLE OP OHANCELLORSVILLB — JEFFERSON DAVIs' TRIBUTE TO STONEWALL JAOKSON. rriHERE is much justice in the sentiment that deokrcK -*- that there. caa be magnificeiiGe even in failure. Men d by Google THE EUROPEAN ESTIMATE OF MK. BAVI9. 423 often turn to the contemplation of rSles enacted in history, ending in disaster and utter disappointment of the originating and vitalizing aspiration, with far more of interest than lias been felt in following records marked by the palpable tokens of complete success. It may well be doubted, whether the Confederate States of America, even had victory crowned their prolonged struggle of superhuman valor and unstinted sacrifice, eonld have com- manded more of the esteem of mankind, than will be awarded them in the years to come, ^Retrospect of the most prosperous period of the fortunes of the Confederacy — the interval be- tween the battle of Fredericksburg, December, 1862, and the ensuing midsummer — reveals a period in which there was wanting no element of glory, of pride, or of hope. Many a people, now proudly boasting an honored recognition at the council-board of nations, might envy the feme of the meteor power which flashed across the iirm'ament, with a glorious radiance that made more mournful its final extinguishment. A notable feature of the distinction which the South, at that time especially, commanded in the eyes of the world, was the enthusiastic and universal tribute of mankind to the leader, whose genius, purity, dignity, and eloquence so adorned the cause of his country. The North sought to console its wounded national pride by accounting for the crushing and humiliating defeats of the recent campaign, by contrasts between the able leadership of its antagonist, and its own imbecile admin- istration. At the South fection was silenced, in the presence of the wondrous results achieved in spite of its own outcries and prophecies of feilure. Demagogues, in such a season of good foitune, ceaAVIS. companions, who boasted the additional honors of Cliaucellors- ville. Reeiiforcementa from other quarters were added,* and the Army of Northern Virginia, a compact and puissant force, seventy thousand strong, which had never yet known defeat, instinctively expected the order for advance into tlie enemy's country. Never was the morak of the army so high, never had it sueh confidence in its own prowess, and in the resources of its great commander, and never was intrusted to its valor a mission so grateiiil to its desires, as that tendered by President Davis, " to force the enemy to fight for their own capital and homes." Under Lee were trusted lieutenants, whose fame, like that of their followers, was world-wide, and whose laurels were a part of the unnumbered triumphs of the matchless valor of that noble army. Longstreet, the Lannes of the South, was again at the head of his trained corps — the assembled chivalry of the South, in whose exploits every State of the Confederacy claimed a glory peculiarly its own. The bronzed veterans of Jackson, who had shared the glory of their immortal leader from Manassas to Chancellorsviile, now followed Ewell, the maimed hero, whom Jackson had named as his successor. Under Hill, the youngest of the corps commanders, were men worthy of a leader who, in twelve months, had filled the suc- cessive grades from Colonel to Lieutenant General. The cav- alry was still intrusted to Stuart, that bold, able chief, and "rarely gallant and noble gentleman, well supporting by his character the tradition that royal blood flowed in his veins." With such leaders, and with thoroughly tried and efficient subordinate officers, improved transportation, equipment and ' clothing, and with numbers approaching nearer an equality * Chiefly conscripts. d by Google CONFEDEEATE DESIGNS. 457 ■witli the Federal army, than at any other period, the Army of Northern Virginia no more doubted, than did its commander and the Government, that it was at the outset of a campaign brilliant and decisive beyond parallel in its history. About the middle of May, General Lee visited Richmond, when the general features of the campaign were determined. The movement from the camps near Fredericksburg and the Eapidan, commenced early in June. The incipient feature of Genera! Lee's plan was a flank movement, while still con- fronted by the array of the enemy — perhaps the most delicate and difficult problem in war — by which, leaving the south bank of the Eappahaonock, he sought to draw the Federal army away from its position. To meet the contingency of a movement by the enemy in the direction of Richmond, A. P. Hill, with his corps d'armee, was left near Fredericksburg. That skillful officer ably executed his instructions, checking the Federal demonstrations near his lines, and concealing the absence of the main body of the army until the advance was well under way. General Stnart fully performed his impor- tant part of covering the movements of the infantry, by seiz- ing the mountain passes, and detaining the advance of the enemy, in the execution of which he fought several fiei'ce cav- alry engagements, winning them all with inferior forces. The army was marched through an abundant country, not deso- lated by war, and affording good roads. Important incidents of the advance were the capture of Winchester, Berry ville, and Martinsburg, by the forces of Eweil, with their garrisons, aggro- gating seven thousand men, and considerable material of war. These brilliant results of Lee's strategy were accomplished with wonderful regularity and promptitude, and were attended with inconsiderable loss. d by Google 458 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. Crossing the Potomac, the second stage of the campaign wag the occupation of Western Maryland — the least friendly section of the State — where the army could be abundantly supplied, and the important objects of destroying the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Cumberland Canal, so valuable to the ene- my, could be accomplished. The next step -was to advance into Pennsylvania, capturing large supplies much needed by the army, occupying several large towns of that State, and destroying communications — meanwhile the army living on the enemy, and kept well in hand for a geaeral engagement, whenever battle could be advantageously offsfed. In the execu- tion of this portion of the plan, an extensive and fertile section of Pennsylvania was occupied, strong detachments were pushed far into the interior, and a movement against Harriaburg was in preparation, when the advance of the Federal army induced General Lee to concentrate his forces for battle. The consummate strategy of Lee had now made Iiim appa- rently master of the situation, and gave him the option of ten- dering or declining a grand and decisive engagement. It is impossible to overestimate the generalship, which, within twen- ty-five days, had transferred an army, in the presence of the enemy, from the Eappahannock to the interior of Pennsyl- vania, making large captures en, route, and inflicting heavy damage upon the Federal communications, witliout being even momentarily arrested. Never once had been relaxed the grasp of that master-hand which controlled the army in all its move- ments. Its various parts, within easy supporting distance, were clearly so disposed, as to be readily assembled, to meet the exigency that was inevitable. "When Lee drew in his several columns around Gettysburg, the South confident in the invincibility of the army, and in the genius of its leader, never d by Google GETTYSBURG. 459 doubted the issue of the grand trial of arms which waa at hand. With more than apprehension the North awaited the fate of the army, upon which its last hope of security rested. A de- feat of the Army of the Potomac now would signify, not a check in a boastful advance upon Richmond, but the capture of Washington, the presence of the avenging columns of Lee upon the banlis of the Delaware— perhaps of the dreaded Stnart upon the Hudson. It was contemplated that the invasion of Pennsylvania would result in a decisive battle. Indeed, that result was in- evitable, unless the Federal authorities should unresistingly submit to the invasion — an event not for a moment to be an- ticipated. But a vital feature in the tlieory of the invasion ■was that the position of Lee would necessitate an advance against him by the Federal commander, leaving to Lee the choice of time and place for giving battle. The calculation waa that Lee would be master of the situation at all times, as indeed he undoubtedly was until the engagement of Gettys- burg was joined. We arc not ha-e at liberty to discuss the details of that battle, or to consider how far it was a depart- ure from, or in pursuance of the original design of the Confed- erate campaign.* If competent criticism shall coudennm the *It has been generally assumed that General Lee committed j,raTe er rors at Gettjsburg. The fnllowinff explanation by Lee shows the extreme caution with which such a judgment >!hou!d. be pionoanoed II ha I not been intended io fig}l a. get eral battle at such dtstan tiom oui bas<. unless attached by the enemy but finding ourselres unespectedly confronted hy tfio Federal army, it hecime a mattflr of dilhculty to withdraw thi-ou^h the mountains with out lirge trams At the -amt. time the country waa imfavorahle for eolleeting supplies while in the prcsen e of the entmt ? main body, aa he was enaVlei to re^tiain our for ^ing pirhea hy ecu pyiiig the passes of the mountxins with rei^uHi and lotal troop A ? it d by Google 460 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. tactics of Lee at Gettysburg, he lias yet disarmed censure by the surpassing magnanimity with which he assumed the re- sponsibility. The great joy of the North did not exaggerate the terrible blow sustained by the Confederacy in the failure of the Penn- sylvania campaign. It was the last serious demonstration upon Federal soil undertaken by the South — all movements of an offensive character subsequently undertaken being merely raids or diversions, designed to give relief to the sorely-pressed Con- federate capital. It imposed upon the South the cruel neces- sity of a continuation of the war upon its own soil — a preca- rious defensive, with a capacity of resistance greatly diminished. Gettysburg marked the most serious step in that decline of Confederate fortunes which .the fell of Jackson, in the moment of his greatest triumph, so ominously presaged.* Yet the condition of Lee's army was far from desperate on the morning of the 4th of July, when it still confronted its tie thus bei^ime id a measure unaioidable Enc uraged bv^ the saccc a ful iaaue of flie first day and in view of the valuable resalla wh ih wouU ensue from tlie defeat of the army of General Jteade it was thought aE Tisable to renew the attack Mr. Swinton who derived his information fiom General Longstippt makes a statement whieh throws mu(,h light upon Uie theoiy with which this campaign was undertaken Indeed in entering upon the campaign General Lee expressly promised his corps commanders that he would ot assume a tachcil offe is m bdforoehs iitaaontet io attxcl him — Can paigns of the Army of the Potomac *Major Tohn B'lten Cooke justly says Gettysburg was the Witcrl — Cemetery Hill the Mount St Tean of tl e war Jiot m th out good ceason ib (he anniversary of this great battle celebiatcd at the North with addresses and rejiioinss— with ciowds and brass linls and congratulations Th American Wateiku is w itli makin„ thit noise over; and tlia nicrument jr jciel there is a natural onccfti n d by Google VICKSEURG. 461 antagonist, neither evincing a disposition to attack. Retiring ill perfect order, and bringing off his extensive trains and seven thousand prisoners, he tendered the enemy battle at Hagerstown, while making preparations to recross the Poto- mac. General Meade, an able and prudent soldier, made as vigorous a pursuit as the crippled condition of his army would permit. In a short time General Lee was once more upon the lines of the Rapidan, and General Meade soon took position upon the Rappahannock, Here the campaign terminated, and the two armies, like giants exhausted by a mighty wrestle, gladly availed themselves of a season of repose. But Gettysburg did not complete the agony of the South. The disastrous failure of the most prodigious and promising enterprise, undertaken by its lai^est, and heretofore invincible army, was simultaneous with an event hardly less fearful in its consequences. On the fourth of July, the garrison of Vicks- burg, reduced to the point of starvation, surrendered to the persevering and indomitable Grant, This event signified the loss of an army of twenty-five thousand men, by the enemy of the Confederate Gibraltar of the ] Valley, the loss of all tenure upon the great river by the South, and the severance of the Confederacy. Port Hudson, with its garrison of five thousand men, being no longer ten- able, after the fell of Vicksburg, was immediately surrendered to the besieging army of General Banks. The sum of Con- federate disasters in the summer of 1863, was completed by the feilure of the attempt to capture Helena, Arkansas, followed by the capture of Little Rock, and Federal control of the im- portant valley in which it is situated. "Within ninety days the South was brought from the hope of almost instant independence to the certainty of a long, d by Google 462 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. bitter, and doubtful struggle. Its armies terribly shattered, its resources in men and means apparently almost exhausted, it seemed for a time doubtfiil whether the Confederacy was capable of longer endurance of the terrible ordeal. The exult- ation of the North was proportionate to the extent of its vic- tories. A new lease was given to the war. Coniidence was fully restored, and the Federal Government could now make no demand, that would be thought extravagant, upon the energies of the North, for the promotion of the object it had so much at heart. But a few months sufficed to show that the constancy and fortitude of the South was still capable of a desperate struggle with the power and determination of the North. This period of misfortune and apprehension was signalized by a most determined arraignment of the Confederate ad- ministration. It is worthy of remark, however, that in all the embittered censure visited upon President Davis, for his alleged responsibility for the crushing reverses of the summer campaign, there was avowed but little censure of the most fetal of those disasters — the failure of the movement into Penn- sylvania. The privilege of assailing Mr. Davis witli or with- out reason, did not include the privilege to condemn Lee and his army. In tlie case of Vieksburg circumstances were assumed to be different. "Without even waiting for the faot«, or for any ex- planation of that terrible calamity. General Pemberton was accused of having betrayed his command. He was of North- ern birth, and be had surrendered on the fourth of July — such was the evidence of Pemberton's treason. Despite the fact that Johnston was known to be in the neigliborhood with a force collected for the relief of Vieksburg, and though it had d by Google GENEEAL PEMBERTON, 463 been plain to the country for weeks, that Vicksburg could not be saved, except by a successful demonstration by that force, it was not admitted among the possibilities of the case, that Johnston* shared the responsibility for the disaster. When, however, the Federal accounts revealed the gallant defense made by Pemberton, and thus put to shame the un- worthy insinuation of treachery, the censure of that unfortu- nate commander and the President assumed another direction. Pemberton, . it was asserted, was notoriously incompetent, so proven, and so represented to the President before bis assign- ment to command in Mississippi ; and the indignation of the country v/as invoked upon the most signal instance of favoritism yet exhibited. The extent to which this censure of Mr, Davis was successful, may bo estimated, when it is stated tliat no act of his administration so imperiled his popularity as did the appointment of General Pemberton. Yet it is undeniable that this was the result of the unfortunate sequel at Vicksburg, and dictated by popular passion in a moment of terrible dis- appointment, rather than by any sufficient reason ever ui^ed to show that the appointment was unwise and undeserved. Sustained by the recommendations of several of the first ofiicci'S in the Confederate army, President Davis made Pem- berton 1 LiLut nint Geneial, itici a=M,fned bim to the torn raand of tht, Dt,ptitmcnt of Missis'iippi The command was * General Johnston whether willingly or uuviningly it is not nPL,es sarv ftr us to inqi lie was the foioril* of thp anb ndminiati-ition 1 1 hon HiB mm© and opinions were upon all fjoooBiDns qiiot"! to aid in the diaparagement of the administration This faction wis as blind m its zeilotry m tavor of Tjhnston as in its prejudice ag'iinst Davis The m bvH of this zeiloi'' cl anipi n^hij) of Jihn'ifon was hjweier to iff set the wi-llinown LonIileiu,e of Gcnoral Lee m tl e Pieiilent d by Google 464 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. one of vital importance to the country, and within its lim- its were the home and all the po^essiona of Mr, Davis. In October, 1862, General Pemberton took charge of Lis de- partment, finding it in a most disordered and emban-assing condition. Hia administration was of a character to give great satiafection to the Government, and its fruits were speed- ily realized in the thorough and efficient reorganization of an army, but lately defeated, the improved efficiency of its vari- ous departments, and the suceesaful defense of an extensive district, with forty thousand men, against the armies of Grant and Banks, the smallest of ■which nearly equaled the entire force of Pemberton. Indeed, it can hardly be alleged that the administration of General Pemberton, previous to the eiege of Vicksburg, was faulty or unsatisfiictory. "With what justice, then, can it be charged that Mr. Davis retained in command an officer proven to be incompetent? In the reports of Generals Johnston and Pemberton, written from different stand-points, and each with the object of vindi- cating its author, the operations which led to the retirement of the latter within the lines of Vicksbnrg were elaborately discussed. It is at least safe to state that General Pemberton's reasons are as forcibly stated in explanation of his own con- duct, as are General Johnston's in demonstration of the errors of his subordinate. Pemberton was controlled in all his move- ments by the paramount purpose of holding Vicksbnrg, the last, obstr action to the enemy's free navigation of the Missis- sippi, and the connecting link between the two great divisions of the Confederacy. If he had abandoned Vicksburg, with a view to save his army, and refused to stand a siege, can it be reasonably supposed tiiat his assailants would have been more merciful? His mission was to save Vicksburg and the Valley d by Google GENEEAL PEMBEETON. 465 of tlie Mississippi, and, when forced back by the overwhelm- ing numbers of Grant, he preferred even to risk iiis army, rather than to surrender the objects of the whole campaign without an effort. During the siege, the engineering skill of General Pember- ton, and his fertility of expedients were conspicuously dis- played. Works, which, under the unceasing and concentrated fire of hundreds of guns, were demolished, re-appeared, in im- proved forms, which only consummate ingenuity could have devised. Works bnilt to withstand guns used in ordinary warfare were found wholly inadequate to resist the heavy metal of the enemy; and, subjected to the incessant and gall- ing fire of musketry, the artillery could with difficulty be worked. But the energy and resources of General Pemberton met even these difficulties. The position of the pieces was constantly changing; embankments disappeared under the enemy's fire; but the Confederate artillery would still be found in position, and stronger than before. But the skill of the commander and the heroic endurance of the garrison were unavailing. From the first, relief from ■without was expected. For forty-eight days this hope stimu- lated the commander and the garrison, and General Pemberton subsequently declared that he " would have lived upon an ounce a day, and have continued to meet the assaults of all Grant's army, rather than have surrendered the city, until General Johnston had realized or relinquished that hope." AVhen the hope of aid was finally abandoned, the surrender of Vicksburg was simply a question of time and honor. The alternative was either to capitulate or attempt to cut through the enemy's lines. In a council of his officers, Pemberton fe- vered the latter plan, but yielded to the views of the majority. 30 d by Google ibb LIFE OF JEF The case of General Pemberton was a striking instance of public ingratitude. Vindicating his devotion to the cause of tlie South, by surrendering his commission in the FeJeral service, tui'ning his back upon his kindred, and leaving a large property in the country of the enemy, he was stigmatized by the very people in whose cause he had made these sacrifices. His loyalty, capacity, and fidelity were questioned, even while he was in the front of death. His noble reply to these accusa- tions can never be forgotten. Said he to his troops : " You have been told that I was disloyal and incompetent, and tliat I would sell Vicksburg' Follow me, and you shall see at what price I shall sell it." The story of the devotion shown at Vicksburg is no mean one in the history of the Confederacy. But the great quaUties of this abused man liave even a nobler testimony than the gallantry of that defense. Convinced that the cloud of prejudice and misrepresentation which followed him, rendered useless to the cause his services in high position, he tendered his resignation as a Lieutenant- General, and requested to be ordered to duty with his original rank of Lieutenant- Colonel of Artillery.* AVhen the facts belonging to the unfortunate campaign in Mississippi were made known, the censure of Pemberton was rather for what he failed to do, than what he had done. But suppose the same test should be applied to General Johnston ; would there not he found an equal wanting of resvlls? If Johnston was powerless to make even a diversion with more than twenty thousand men, (his force at the time of Pember- * The President ordered a Court of Inquiry for investigation of the facts of the campaign in Mississippi. General Pemberton requested tliat the most searching inquiry should be made, and that the court be allowed ta imiie all ailainable teUimony agaimt him. d by Google GENBRAL I'Ji:jfI[JilfR)N. 467 ton's surrender,) how much more helpless was Peniberton to check Grant? A dispassionate and careful inquiry will demonstrate that the operations of General Pemherton, antecedent to the siege of Vicksburg, are fer less censurable than was assumed by his assailants. There can be no manner of doubt, that if worthy of blame, he should not be visited with the whole responsi- bility. It is difficult to imagine how Pemherton could have adopted a different course, consistently mth the main purpose of the campaign — which was to prevent the capture of Vicks- burg. It is certain that he would have been doubly con- demned, if he had executed a safe retreat, and abandoned the stronghold without an effort to save it. A sufficient reply to the statement that Pemherton was ap- pointed without the desirable evidence of fitness, is that the occasion was one precluding the employment of any officer whose capacity for such a command had been proven by ample trial. Every officer of established merit was then in a position from which he could not be spai'ed. The presence of Lee in Virginia was deemed necessary by the whole country. The most popular of his lieutenants (Longstreet) was then freely criticised for an assumed failure in a recent independent com- mand ; and, besides, he was obviously needed in the Pennsyl- vania campaign. Beauregard was also thought to be in his appropriate place, in charge of the coast defenses; and, indeed, it was next to impossible to avoid the employment of a com- paratively untried commander in some important position. The confidence of Mr. Davis in Pemherton, too, was amply sustained by the testimony of officers, in whose judgment the country confided. But Pemherton /ailed, and it was the misfortune of the d by Google 468 LIFK OP JEFFKSSON DAVIS. President to have conferred distinction upon an unsuccessful commander. Waiving all discussion of the extent towiiicli Pemberton may be justified, and even conceding the appoint- ment to have been a bad one, let us remember how few really- capable commanders are produced by even the greatest wars. Was President Davis to call twenty into existence, fit to com- mand armies, when Napoleon declared his armies did not afford half a dozen? Let it be remembered, too, that it was his pAietration that sustained Lee, Sidney Johnston and Jackson, in the face of popular clamor ; that M rewarded, with suitable acknowledgment, the skill and gallantry of Ewell, Early, Stuart, Gordon, Longstreet, and Hood ; of Breckinridge, Cle- burne, Magruder, Morgan, and others whose names make up the brilliant galaxy of Confederate heroes.* That President Davis was tenacious of his opinions is un- questionably true, and his firm grasp of his purposes was the explanation of his ascendancy over other minds, and a leading attribute of his fitness for his position. But this strenuous * It is noteworthy that when tvial vindicated the eonfldcnoe of Mr. Davia in an offieor, of whose capacity the cntiC! weie doul tful (aa w^a the case in numberless instaneea), they male no ai,l.nD«Iedgineiit of error For example, the President waa accused of the mcit unworthy nej iti m in hia appointment of General "Dick Tajlor who waa a VroUier of Mr. Davis' first wife. Yet that appointment was insisted u[on ly Stnine wall Jackson, in whose army Taylor comm n led a t r -,a le The Prps dent made Taylor a Brigadier, because he thought him oompptent and afterward a Major-Genera), because Jackson i him U he worthy of it Did Taylor's aubsequent career vindicate the Pi-esident or the critiea? The ease of lie brave and etEoient Early waa another instance in whioh .. Mr. Davis was at variance with the newspaper and congressional censors, and in which, aa usual, the President was sustained by Lee. It is needless to multiply examples. d by Google MR. STEPHENS' MISSION. 469 adhesion to a settled aim, characteristic of all men hom for in- fluence, is a very different quality from that unreasoning zeal- otry which helongs to weak minds. If, indeed, the fevoritism of Mr. Davis hst Vicksburg, with equal justice, it may be claimed that it won the Seven Days' victories, Manassas, Fred- ericksburg, and Chaneellorsville, An interesting event in the history of this period of the war, was the unsuccessful mission of Vice-President Stephens, to the Federal authorities, designed, as explained by President Davis, "to place the war upon the footing of such as are waged by civilized people in modem times." The annexed correspondence requires hardly a word of explanation. Con- sistent with the forbearance and humanity, with which Mr. Davis had endeavored to prevent war, by negotiation, was this effort to soften its rigors and to abate the bitterness which it had then assumed. Eecent atrocities of the Federal authorities* had compelled *One of the worst of these proceedings of the enemy, was the execu- tion of Captains Corbin and McGraw. On hearing of their fate, the Con- federate Government inquired of the Federal authorities the reason of their actions. The response was^ that they were executed as spies. Tlie record of their trial was then demanded. In answer to this request, the Federal Government furniahed a copy of the charges and specifications against Ihem, and of the sentence of the court which condemned them, but none of the ealdenee. From the papers thus furnished, it appears tliat it was not true that thej had b en accused or tried as spies— that the solo charge against a e unf tunate gentlemen was, that they had recruited soldiers for the C nfed ra y n Kentucky, a Slate embraced in our political system and p nted ulariy in the Confederate Congress by Senatoi-s and Eep- ntat N r was the evidence of this charge supplied. Not a sein- tili i\ f appeared that these men were spies. ITie sole pretest for Ihe X ut was the technical one that these officers were recruiting in d by Google 470 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. the Confederate Government to seriously entertain the purpose of I'etaliation. Reluctant to adopt a course which would re- move the last restraint upon the spirit of cruelty and revenge, making the war a system of unmitigated barbarism upon both sides, President Davis determined to make an earnest appeal to the humanity of the Federal authorities. In addition to this object the mission of Mr. Stephens sought the arrange- ment of all disputes between the governments, respecting the cartel of exchange, upon a permanent and humane basis, by which the soldiers of the two armies should be sent to their homes, instead of being confined in military prisons. To make the mission more acceptable to the Federal Gov- ernment, President Davis removed every obstacle to inter- course upon t«rnis of equality, and selected a gentleman of high position, of known philanthropy and moderation, and from several reasons likely to obtain an audience of the Fed- eral authorities. The choice of time was not less indicative of the magnanimity of Mr. Davis. The Confederate array was then in Pennsylvania, apparently upon the eve of a victory already assured, and which, if gained, would have placed it in possession of the Federal capital and the richest sections of the North, At such a moment, so promising in opportunity of ample vengeance for th^ ravages and desolation, which every- where marked' the presence of the Federal armies, the Confed- erate President tendered his noble plea in behalf of civilization and humanity. With rare justice iias it been said, that this one of the States claimed by the enemy, as one of the United States, a principle which applies equally to Virginia or South Carolina, and which would, if carried out, sentence to the gallowa every officer and private we d by Google PEOUD POSITION OF MU. DAVIS. 471 position of Mr. Davis " merited the applause of the Christian world." Mr. Stephens was contemptuously <]eQied even a hearing. Tiie sequel soon revealed the explanation of the conduct of the Federal Government, by which it became doubly charge- able for the BufFerings of a protracted war, iu declining to aid in the abatement of its horrors, and by abruptly closing the door against all attempts at negotiation. General Meade had repulsed General Lee at Gettysbui^, while Mr. Stephens was near Fortress Monroe. Flushed with triumph and insolent in the belief that Lee's army could not escape destruction, the Federal authorities declared such inter(«urse with "rebels" to be " inadmissable." In other words, detention of the Confed- erate prisoners, and outrages upon the Southern pec^le, were part of a political and military system at Washington, and ■would be persisted in. At subsequent stages of the war were seen the objects of this policy, which the Federal Government virtually proclaimed, and which it persistently adhere;! to. The correspondence between President Davis and Vice- President Stephens proudly vindicates the humanity and mag- nanimity of the South. It is alone a sufficient reply to the cant of demagogues and the ravings of conscience-stricken fanatics, over the falsely-called " Rebel barbarities." OFFICIAL COERESPONDEXCE. RituMoND, July 2, 1863, Hon. Alexander H. Sickens, liichnumd, Va.—~ Sir 1 Having accepted jour patriotic offer to proceed, as a mil- itary cominissioner, under flag of truce, to Washington, you will receive herewith your letter of authority to the Commander-in- cliief of tiie army and navy of the Uuited States, d by Google 472 LIFE OF JEFFiiKSON DAVIS. Th = letter 11 si^nel by me as Commander m Lhief of tlie Con- federate land and nivil f Tuf lou will perceive from the term= of the letter that it is so worded a** to avoid my pohtical d fliculfies in itb reception. In- tendel eselusiiely as oue of tho«e communi^.'itions between bel- ligerent'' which public law reeognize-> as necessary and proper between hostile f rces care has been t'lken to give no pretest for refusing to race ve it on the ground that it would involve a tacit reeor,uiti n of the independence "f the Contcdcricy lour missiun is simplj one cl humanity and has no political aspect It objection la made to receiving your letter on the ground that it IS not addiessed to Abribim L ncoln as President, instead of Commander m chief etc then j u mil present the duplicate let- ter which la addieaaed to him aa Pre ident and signed by me, aa Prehilect To this latter objection miy be made on the ground that I am aot recognized to be Piesident Df the Confederacy. In this event yon will decline any further attempt to confer on the suljeot of your mission ao such cocfererce is almisaable only oq the footing of perfect equahtj Mj recent interviews with jou haie put you so fully in po^sessioa f my views that it is scarcely necessaiy to give you any detailed instructions even were I, at this moment well enough to attempt it My whole purpose is m one word to jlace this wir on the foot- ing of su h IS are wiged by civilized people in modern times ; and to divest it of the savage charioter wh eh has been impressed on it by our enemies in spite ol all our efftrts and protests. War IS full enough of unavoidable htrrors under all its aspects, to justify and even to demand of any Christian rulers who may be unhappily tn^iged m carrym„ it on to seek to restrict its calamities and to divest it of ill unne es ary seventies. Tou wiil endeavor to establ ah the caifel for the exchange of prisoners on such 3 basis as 'to avoid the constant difficulties and d by Google ME, DA vis' letter. 473 complaint? which arise and to j reveal for the future what we deem the unfur conduct of our enemies in evading tiie delivery of the pi ^oneri who fail mto their hands m retarding it by '.end ing them on cirouitoua routes and by detuning them soiaetimLS for month'i i I prisons and in peraistin captives nou combatants Tour attention la also called to the unheard of conduct of Fed eral ofeoei in driving from their homes entire communities of women and ch Idien as well as of men whom they find in districts occupied by their troops for no other reibou thda because tl e^e unfortunates are faithful to the allegiance due to their States and refuse to take an oath of fidelity to their enemies The pattin„ to death of unarmed priao en, has been a ground ol just complaint in more than one instan e and the recent exe outiou of offictrs of our army in Kentuckj f r the sole oauae that they were engaged in recruiting service m a State wh ch is claimei as still one of the United Stitea but la also claimed ty ua as ne of the C nfedorite States muat be repressed by retaliation if not unconditionally abandoned because it would lust fy the 1 ke esecu tion in every other State of the Confederacy; and the practice ia barbarous, uselessly cruel, and can only lead to the slaughter of prisoners on both aides— a result too horrible to contemplate, with- out makiog every effort to avoid it. On these and all kindred subjects, you will consider your author- ity full and ample to make such arrangements as will temper the present cruel character of the contest; and full confidence is placed in your judgment, patriotism, and discretion, that while carrying out the objecta of your misaion, you will take care that the equal rights of the Confederacy be always preserved. Very respectfully, [Signed] JEFFERSON DAVIS. d by Google 474 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. KiuHMOND, 8th July, 1563. His Excellent}/ Jefferson Davis— SiE : TJncIer the authority and instructions of yoar letter to mo of the 2d iastant, I proceeded on the mission therein assigned, without delay. The steamer Torpedo, commanded by Licuteniint Hunter Davidson, of the navy, was put in readiness, as soon as possible, by order of the Secretary of the Navy, and tendered for the service. At noon, on the 3d, she started down James River, 1 t g d 1 fl f t ft p C tj P t T! t 1 y th 4tl t b t n 1 k P M wl w t] f w ml fNwptNwww mtb mllbtftl y ytwj. whhl d Iflbf pj h g Tha mmdfdL tDln th t 1 1 d 1 f m Admir 1 L b d th Un t d bt t flglpM talygblw dthnn wnttoJlw ylt lip tlpt whihw tt d w th t h t Bj th fii I f t Ad 1 L t t t my >j t A-v. \ J y f wh I 1 t D imkdAIl ttthd Itif Id tl t th m 1 g dd 1 tl ff d f th U t d St te f t F t II Th b t p d 1 1 t ly f th M t w tl tl 1 p t 1 wM ill T ] d m d t n 1 B tw n tl if 1 k P M th b f m p f 1 g th 1 1 whhh t dmkdBW dt h t th p t th 1 1 th Uh t t wh 1 h d th f th f m th 1 1 t 1 1 k M th t dylltdLt tDd tpkth bt ddthdthffi md h tttl d 1 Th w 1 \ jy t th t pp d d n k d C At h If p t tw I k P M tw b t pp V d us from below, one bearing an answer from the admiral to my note to him of the 4th. This answer is annexed, marked D. The d by Google MR. STEPHEN'S REPLY. 475 Other boat bore the answer of LieutenaQt-Colonel William H. Ludlow, to my not« of the 4th, addressed to the officer in com- mand at Fort Monroe. A copy of this is annexed, marked E. Lieutenant-Colonel Ludlow also came up in person in the boat that brought his answer to me, and conferred with Colonel Ould, on board the Torpedo, upon some matters he desired to see him about in conneetion with the exchange of prisoners. Prom the papers appended, embracing the correspondence re- ferred to, it will be seen that the mission failed from the refusal of the enemy to receive or entertain it, holding the proposition for such a conference " inadmissable." The influences and views that led to this determination after BO long a considerati in of the subject must be left to conjeoture The reason assigned foi the refusal by the United States Secretary of War to wit that the cu fomary a^eat-^ -ind channels are considered dle^tute for ncelful mil tirj c mmunicafuns and con fLrences to one jcq lainted with the tn.t seems not only uusat isfactory but \eiy smgulat anl unaecounfallo for it is certainly known to him that these very agi,t ts to whom he evidently d lules heretofore agreed up n in a former t,o ference in reference to the exchange of prisonei (one of the suljccts embraced la ymr letter to me) are njw anl have been f^r some time dis tin tlj at i&aue on several important points The existing cartel owing to the-se d sagrecmenta is \irlually suspeided lo far a^i the exthange of oflicers on either side h concerned Notices of re taliation have been gi\en on both s dc* The effort" therefore for the \ery many and ccent rea ons set forth in J our letter of instructions to me to see if these d ffer ences couli not be removed and if a cleaier nulerstinlin^ bt tween the pirties a to the general conduct of tl e war could not be arrned at before this i,xtreme neasure shouU be re orted to by eithei part^ wa" lo les" m ucordance with the lictate-, if hum imtj thin m =liia conformity with the us ^es ot bell -cients d by Google 476 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. in modern times. Deeplj impressed as I was with these views and feelings, in undertaking the mission, and askiag the confer- ence, I can but express my profound regret at the result of the effort, made to obtain it; and I can but entertain the belief, that if the conference sought had been granted, mutual good could have been effected by it ; and if this war, so unnatural, so unjust, BO unchristian, and so inconsistent with every fundamental prin- ciple of American constitutional liberty, "must needs" continue to be waged against us, that at least some of its severer horrors, which now so eminently threaten, might have been avoided. Very respectfully, ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS. d by Google DECLINE OF THE OOKFEDERACY. CHAPTEB XVI. B r 0PBRATION3 IN VIEQINIA DAVIs' EECOUMENBATIONS rpHOUGH indicating that stage of tlie war, when began the steady decline of the Confederacy, the summer of 1863 was not wholly unredeemed by successes, which, however tran- sient in signiiioance, threw no mean lustre npon Southern arms. A series of brilliant operations marked the career of General Richard Taylor in Lower Louisiana. Preceded by a successful campaign in the Lafourche region, an expedition was under- rdb, Google UFE OP JEFFErj taken by General Tayior against Erashear City, in the latter days of Juno. A strong aiid iiaportaiit position was cai-ricd, and eighteen hundred prisoners, with over five millions of dollars worth of stores, were captured. For some time the hope was indulged, that this success of General Taylor would compel the abandonment of the Federal siege of Fort Hud- son, and that Taylor could also make a successful diversion in favor of Vicksburg. This hope was disapi>ointed, and Taylor, not having the strength to cope with the large force of the enemy sent gainst him, after the fall of tlie Mississippi strong- holds, was forced to abandon the country which he had so gallantly won. The valley of the Missis.9ippi was irrecover- ably in Federal i>ossession, ^nd the Confederacy was able at no subsequent stage of the war, to undertake any serious entei-- prise for its redemption. At Charleston the Federal fleet and land forces continued, during the summer, their fruitless and expensive attacks. The skill of General Beauregard, and the firmness of his small command, made memorable the siege of that devoted city, so hated and coveted by the North, yet ajuong the last prizes to fall into its hands. But momentary gleams of hope were insufficient to dispel the shadow of disaster, which, by midsumiher, seemed to have settled upon the fate of the Confederacy. The violent blow dealt the material capacity of the South by the surrender of Vicksburg ; the diminished prestige, from the serious check at Gettysburg, in its wondrous career of victory, and the fright- ful losses of the Army of Northern Virginia, were immediately, followed by a marked abatement of that unwavering confidence in the ultimate result, which had previously so stimulated the energy of the South. d by Google CONPEDEllATK JTXANCES. 479 ^ The materiol diaability and embarrassment resnWng from the possession, by the enemy, of large sections of the Confed- eracy, and consequent contraetion of its territorial a'rea; the destmction of proijerty ; the serious disturbance of tlie whole commercial system of the South, by the loss of Vieksburg; and the diminished confidence of tlie public, were attended by a fatal derangement of the already failing Confederate system of iinanee. In tlie American war, a^ in all ^ars, the question of finance entered largely into the decision of the resnit. At an early period many sagacious minds declared that the contest would linally be resolved into a question as to which of the belliger- ents "had the longer purse." In acceptance of this view, the belief was krgely entertamed that the financial distress in the South, consequent upou the heavy reverses of this period, clearly portended the failure of the Coufeilenuy. President Davis, since the TOr, has avovved his appreciation of the financial difficulties of the South, as a controlling influ- ence in the failure of the cause. By unanimous consent, the management of the Confen the south ■ side of the Tennessee River, aud secured new lines of com- munication, thus relieving the Meaguered array. General Longstreet, to whom the holding of this all-important route was confided, made an unsuccessful night attack designed to defeat Grant's movement. Having relieved the Federal army of the apprehension of starvation or a disastrous retreat. Grant now meditated opera- tions, which, however hazardous, or however in violation of probability may have been their success, were fully vindicated by the result. Waiting until he thought his accumulation of forces sufficient to justify an assault upon the strong positions of the Confederates, Grant finally made a vigorous and well- plaimed attack with nearly his entire force. The result was d by Google 4S« LIFE OF JEFPESROS DAVIS. a disastrous defeat and retreat of Bragg's arjiiy. General Grant claimed, as tlie fruits of his victory, seven tliousand prisoners and nearly fifty pieces of artillery. There were cirenmstances attending this battle peculiarly discouraging to the South. These circumstances were thus commented upon by President Davis: ^ftei a loD^ and eveie hattk m whi:,h ^ipif cirn „e w niflicteJ on lum some uf re his trans- fer to the coniTiiand of the -Army of Northern Virginia. d by Google GENERAL KRAGG. 480 No comiuanda' was luoi'e harshly criticised than Bragg, and tlie unfortunate career of the "Western army, under his com- mand, was an inexhaustible theme for diatribe and invective from the opponents of the Confederate administration. Bra^ was often declared to be, at once the moat incompetent and unlucky of the " President's fiivorites." Yet nothing is more certain tlian that an impartial i-eview of his military career will demonstrate General Bragg to have been a soldier of rare and superior merit. It cei-tainly can not be claimed that his campaigns exhibited the brilliant and solid achievements of several of those conducted by Lee, or of the Valley cam- paigns of Jackson. The great disparity of numbers and means of the two sections, enabled few Confederate command- ei-s to achieve the distinction of uiimai-red success, even before that period of decline when disaster was the rule, and victory the exception with the Confederate forces. But Bragg can not justly be denied the merit of having, with most inadequate means, long deferred the execution of tlie Federal conquest of the AVeat. At the time of his as- sumption of command, in June, 1862, the armies of Grant and Buell, nearly double his own aggregate of forces, were overrunning the northern borders of the Gulf States, and threatening the veiy heart of the Confederacy. His masterly combinations, attended by loss altogether disproportioned to the results accomplished, recovered lai^e sections of territory, which had been for months the easy prey of the enemy, and transferred the seat of war to Middle Tennessee. Here he maintained his position for nearly a year, vigorously assailing the enemy at every opiMrtunity, constantly menacing his com- munications, and firmly holding his important Ime, in the iace of overwhelmhig odds, while the Confederate arir.ics in every d by Google 490 I.TPE OP JEFFEIiSON ]>AVIS. other quarter were losiug ground. Finally, when forced back by the eoneentration of Federal forces, released by their suc- cesses elsewhere, Bragg skillfully eluded tlie combinations for his destruction, and, at an opportune moment, delivered Rose- crans one of the most timely and stunning blows inflicted dur- ing the war. No fact of the war is more clearly estaLilislied than Bragg's exculpation from any responsibility for the escape of the Federal army from the field of Cbickamauga. His posi- tive commands were disobeyed, bis plan of battle threatened with entire derangement by the errors of subordinates, and the escape of Eoaecrans secured by the same causes. But still more cruel ^vas the disappointment of Bragg's well-gi-ounded expec- tation of a successful siege of Chattanooga. So clear is his exculpation in this case, that no investigation of fiicts, severely reflecting upon others, is required. While the controversy between Bragg and Longstreet was pending, some disposition was manifested to censure the former for his rejection of a plan of campaign proposed by Longstreet after the victory of Chickamauga. The latter officer suggested crossing the Tennessee above Chattanooga, and then moving upon the enemy's rear, with a view to force him back upon Nashville. The pregnant criticism of General Bragg quickly disposes of the suggestion. Said he : " The suggestion of a movement by our right, immediately after the battle, to the north of the Tennessee, and thence upon Nashville, requires notice only because it will find a place on the files of the de- partment. Such a movement was utterly impossible for want of transportation. Nearly half our army consisted of reen- forcements just before the battle, without a wagon or an artil- lery horse, and nearly, if not quite, a third of the artillery horses on the field had been lost. The railroad bridges, too, d by Google GENERAL BRAGG. 491 had been destroyed fo a point south of Ringgold, and on all tlie road from Cleveland to Knoxville, To these insurmount- able difficulties were added the entire absence of means to cross the river, except by fording at a few precarious points too deep for artillery, and the well-known danger of sudden rises, by which all communication would be cut off, a con- tingency which did actually happen a few days after the visionary scheme was abandoned," General Bragg continues a recitation of cogent considerations in support of his objec- tions to a plan which he declares utterly wanting in " military propriety." The culmination of Bragg's unpopularity was his dtjfeat at Missionary Ridge. No officer, save Lee, could, by any possi- bility, have hoped for a dispassionate judgment by the public, at this desperate stage of the war, of an afFair so calamitous. The real explanation of that battle was unquestionably con- tained in the extract from President Davis' message previously given, Altliough Bragg could oppose but little more than thirty thousand troops to the eighty thousand which Grant threw against him, the strength of his position would have compensated for this disparity, had his troops fought with the usual spirit of Confederate soldiers. It was not to be anticipated that the enemies of the Presi- dent in Congress and the hostile press would feil to find a pretext upon which to throw the responsibility upon Mr. Davis. The disaster was declared to have resulted from the detachment of Longstreet for an expedition into East Ten- nessee. It is only necessary to state the feets of the case to- show the falsity and injustice of this criticism. In the first place, as we have already stated, Bragg's force was suflicient to hold liis tremendously strong position without Longsti'eet, d by Google 492- LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAYIS. abould his army fight with its usual spirit. Seconclly, Long- street's corps was a part of Lee's array, detached for a purely temporaiy purpose with Bragg, and its absence was a source of constant anxiety to General Lee. This temporary purpose was well seived at the battle of Chickatnauga, which Bragg designed to be a destmctive blow, and which failed ia a part of its purpose, thiough no fault of that commander. It was nevei intended to leave Longstreet in the West any longer than was necessary to relieve Bragg in his great exi- gency after the evacuation of Chattanooga. That result being accomplished, Longstreet was detained for a few weeks, in the expectation that Rosecrans, driven to desperation by his ne- cessities, would attempt to retreat, in which event, Long- street could perform valuable service in aiding to destroy the Federal army. When Grant, however, opened the Fed- eral communications, and Longstreet was foiled in his effort to prevent it, there was no longer a sufficient reason for his detention so far from Lee. Accordingly, he was sent through East Tennessee, with the double design of opening communi- cation with Virginia, where, at any moment, he might be needed, and of clearing East Tennessee of the forces of Burn- side. Had Longstreet's expedition been successful, it can not be doubted that the pressure against Bragg would have been im- mediately relieved, and a vital section restored to the Confed- eracy. We can not pause, however, to review the incidents of General Longstreet's movement, nor to revive the contro- versy between himself and a subordinate, evoked by an exfje- dition whose results exhibited few features of success. President Davis, better acquainted with the fects of the war than the critics who so often mislead the public, held General d by Google OPERATIOK-8 JN VIRGINIA. 493 Bragg in that Iiigh estimation to which his unquestioned pa- triotism and his military qualities entitled him. Of General Bragg it may be &irly said that he made the most of his opportunities and his means. If he made retreats, they were always preceded by bloody fights, and marked by obstinate resistance. If his constrained and sullen retreats lost terri- tory, they were not comparable in that respect with that myst«nou8 "strategy" of other commanders in high favor with the opponents of Mr. Davis, which eventually threatened to "toll" the enemy to the Atlantic coast, or the Gulf of Mexico, without once bringing Iiim to a general engagement. Bragg never feared to stake his fame on the gage of battle, and, if be sustained reverses, he won many more victories. An educated soldier, he was also a rigid disciplinarian, and had little toleration for the demagogism so conspicuous in volunteer armies. This was the occasion of much of the per- sonal enmity by which he was embarrassed both in and out of the army. But, whatever the justice of the public condem- nation of Bragg, his period of usefulness in the Western army was at an end. Very soon afterwards General Joseph E, John- ston took command of the army in Northern (Jeorgia. The two armies in Virginia, weakened by the detachments from each sent to the West, continued inactive until autumn. In October, General Lee prepared a brilliant campaign, the object of which was to place his army between General Meade and Washington. Meade, though forced back to the neigh- borhood of Manassas and Oentreville, had become apprized of Lee's movement in time to prevent tlie consummation of the strategy of the Confederate commander. An incident of the expedition was the severe repulse of a part of General Hill's command, attended with considerable loss. Meanwhile, General d by Google 494 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. Imboden, cooperating with the movements of the main army, captured several hundred prisoners and valuable stores in the Shenandoah Valley. Early in November, nearly two thonsand Confederates were captured at Eappahannock Station by a movement marked by skill and gallantry on the part of Gen- eral Sedgwick. The campaign in Northern Virginia terminated with a handsome success by the division of General Edwaivi Johnson over a large detachment from Meade's army at Mine Run. In December, General Averill, with a force of Federal cavalry, made a destructive raid into South-western Virginia, and destroyed portions of the Virginia and Tennessee Rail- At the close of 1863, there were many signs of the ap- proaching exhaustion of the South, yet there was good reason to hope that, by a vigorous use of means yet remaining, the war might be brought to a favorable conclusion. The peace party of the North, despite the increased strength and popu- larity of Mr. Lincoln's administration, resulting from the Fed- eral successes of the summer, was evidently becoming more bold and defiant. The whole North, too, was disappointed at the prospect of an indefinite resistance by the South. Gettys- burg and Vi(feburg were not followed, as had been antici- pated, by the immediate collapse of the Confederacy. Under such circumstances, the South had much to anticipate from a bold and defiant front at the opening of the next campaign. Unquestionably its resources were less adequate than before, but there was evidently capacity to prolong the war for an almost indefinite period. Thus, while the Confederacy could not cherish the hope of daring exploits at the opening of the campaign, which sliould again make the enemy apprehensive for his own homes, there was a well-grounded anticipation of d by Google WANING STRENGTH OF THE SOUTH. 495 a successful defensive, which should wear out the enemy's ar- dor, aud again present opportunities for bold enterprise. The message of President Davis to Congress, which met early in December, was one of his ablest productions. Re- viewing the entire field of the war, in its more important phases, it was equally remarkable for its frank statement of the situation, and for the energetic policy recommended, , There could be no difficulty in comprehending the needs of the Confederacy at this distressing period. The three great elements of war — men, money, and subsistence — were now de- manded to a greatly increased extent. In nothing was the cam- paign of 1863 more fetal, than in the terrible losses inflicted on the armies of the Confederacy, At the close of the year, the Array of Northern Virginia, including the absent corps of Longstreet, was weaker, by more than a third of tlie force carried into Pennsylvania. The losses of the Western army had fear- fully diminished its strength, and its frequent disasters had greatly impaired its morah. Measures were now required which should repair the losses, and, if possible, increase the army beyond its strength at the ojiening of the previous cam- paign, in order to meet the enormous conscription preparing at the North. President Davis indicated the following methods of adding to the army : " Restoring to the army all who are improp- erly absent, putting an end to substitution, modifying the exemption law, restricting details, and placing in the ranks such of the able-bodied men now employed as wagoners, nurses, cooks, and other employ&s as are doing service, for which the negroes may be found competent." These were evidently the last expedients by which the Con- federate armies could be recruited from the white population. d by Google 496 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. By successive enactmente Congress had empowered the Presi- dent to call into the field all persons between the ages of eighteen aiid forty-five. The exigency consequent upon the reverses of the summer had necessitated the requisition of the last resen'es provided by Congress — the class between forty and forty-five. Conscription had failed to give the effective strength calculated upon. Each extension of the law eshlb- itfid, in the result, an accession of numbers greatly below the estimate upon which it was based. This was largely due to the inefficient execution of the law, and to the opposition which it encountered in many localities. But the results also indi- cated a most exaggerated estimate of the available arms-bear- ing population of the South. In the latter part of 1863, the rolls of the Adjutttnt-General's office in Eiehmond showed a little more than four hundred thousand men under arms ; and Secretary Seddon stated that, from desertions and other causes, " not more tlian a half — never two-tiiirds — of the soldiers were in the ranks." The message of Mr. Davis indicated defective features in the system of conscription, and suggested improvements as follows : "Oh the siihjeot of exeniptions, it is heliovcd that abuses can not be checked unless the system is placed on a basis entirely different from that now pro¥ided by law. The object of your legis- lation has been, not to confer privileges on classes, but to exon- erate from military duty sueh number of persons skilled in the various trades, professions, and mechanical pursuits, as could ren- der more valuable service to their country by hiboving in their present occupation than by goiug into the ranks of the army. The poHey is unquestionable, but the result would, it is thought, he better obtained by L-nri'lliug all such persons, and allowing details d by Google EXECUTIVE liECOJIMENDATIONS, 497 to be made of the number necessarj to meet the wanta of the coantrj. Considerable numbers are believed to be now exempted from the military service who are not needful to the public in their civil vocation. " Certain duties are now performed throughout the country by details from the army, which could be as well executed by persons above the present conscript age. An extension of the limit, so as to embrace persons over forty-five years, and physically fit for service in guarding posts, railroads, and bridges, in apprehending deserters, and, where practicable, assuming the place of younger men detailed for duty with the nitre, ordnance, commissary, and quartermaster's bureaus of the War Department, would, it is hoped, add largely to the effective force in the field, without an undue burden on the population." The message farther recommended legislation replacing " not only enlisted cooks, but wagoners, aaid other employes in the army, by negroes." Prom these measures the President expected that the array would be "so strengthened, for the ensuing campaign, as to put at defiance the utmost efforts of the enemy." But the meagre results of conscription revealed not only an excessive calculation of the numerical strength of the Confed- eracy ; they indicated the reluctance with whicli the harsh ne- cessities of the war, in its later stages, were met. As the war was protracted, popular ardor naturally waned, and in the pres- ence of losses and reverses, the spirit of volmitary sacrifice gradually disappeared. Draft and impressment were now re- quired to obtain the services and the means, which, in the be- ginning, were lavishly proiJered. Partially the result of a natural popular weariness of the in- creasing exactions of a long and exhaustive struggle, these were 32 d by Google 498 LIFE OP JEPFEESON DAVIS. also the legitimate fruits of the distrust so assiduously inculca- ted by the fault-finders. When reverses to their armies came ■with appalling rapidity, and, in many instances, in spite of the exertions of their ablest and most popular leadens, the people saw confidence and industry only in their Government, and that Government they were constantly taught to believe grossly incompetent and unworthy. Under such circumstances, how could there be that unity and cooperation, without which the cause was preordained to failure? In that industry which sought every possible occasion for censure, that ingenuity which exaggerated every error, that intemperance which filled the halls of Congress with denunciation, and the land with clamor and discontent, the North at last found allies which ably as- sisted its armies. More violent, intemperate, and unscrupulous than ever, were the assaults upon the administration, in that long period of agony which followed the disasters in Mississippi and Penn- sylvania. Such was an appropriate occasion, when a grief- stricken country implored the unanimity which alone could bring relief, for agitation, revenge, and invective. In Congress Mr. Davis was assailed with furious vituperation, because he had refused, at the instance of a member, to remove Bragg, and place Johnston in command of the Western army. Yet Gen- eral Johnston, after a visit to Tennessee, earnestly advised the President not to remove Bragg, as the publie interests would mfer by that step. Almost daily Mr. Davis was assailed for not having properly estimated the war, in the diatribes of an able editor, who himself, but a few weeks before hostilities opened, declared ihm-e would be no war. Of such a character were the accusers and the accusations. If Jefferson Davis courted revenge, he could find ample sat- d by Google DEFICIF.NCY OF SUPPLIES. 499 iafaction in the contrast between himself and some of his fore- most aecusers, which the sequel has drawn. He fell at last, but only when that cause was lost, which he unselfishly loved, and which his heart followed to its glorious grave. His name is already immortal — the embodiment of the heroism, the vir- tues, the sufferings, the glory of a people who revere him and scorn his persecutors. Nor can the South forget that many, who, during her arduous struggle, constantly assailed her chosen ruler, have since taken refuge in the camp of those who first conquered, and now seek to degrade her people. A source of universal alarm in the South, at this period, was the deficiency of food. We have elsewhere quoted freely the admonitions of President Davis respecting the question of sup- plies, and indicating the cause which led to so much suffering in the armies of the Confederacy. Ever since the loss of large sections of Tennessee, in the spring of 1862, this subject had occasioned anxiety. Without entering into details, it may be briefly stated, that, with the loss of Kentucky and the larger portion of Tennessee, the Confederacy lost the main source of its supplies of meat. As other sections were occupied by the enemy, and communications were destroyed, the area of the Confederacy became more and more contracted, and its sources of supply still more limited. Even when supplies were abun- dant in many quarters, the armies in the field suffered actual want, in consequence of the want of transportation, and of the remoteness of the supplies from the lines of the railroads. But while the meat in the Confederacy was rapidly dimin- ishing in quantity, as the Federal armies advanced, and seizpd or destroyed every thing in the shape of subsistence, the army was still deprived of supplies which should have been made available. The unpatriotic practice of hoarding supplies — a d by Google 500 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. temptation suggested by the rife spirit of speculation, arising ■ from a redundant and depreciated currency — necessitated the passage of impressment laws. These laws were practically rendered nugatory by the inadequate provisions for their exe- cution. In no respect was the timid and demagogical legisla- tion of the Confederate Congress, so illnsti'ated as by its adop- tion of a system of impressment, which aggravated the very evil it was designed to remedy. Various expedients were attempted, with partial success, for obtaining subsistence beyond the limits of the Confederacy. It will be readily seen, however, how precarious was this de- pendence. It was impossible for the Confederacy to mainteiin its armies, while its resources in every other respect were I'ap- idly reaching the point of exhaustion. In the end the want of food proved the most efficient adversary of the South. The final military catastrophe made the ^Federal army master of a country already half conquered by starvation,* * My limited apace has prevented the extended account of the Confed- erate Commisisary Department, wMoli was originally designed. The liia- tory of its commisaariat is an important chapter in tie Mstory of the Confederacy. President Davis was much abused for his retention of Col- onel Northrop, who has been charged, both during and since the war, with incompetency, corruption, and eynrj conceivable abuse of hia office. The amount of truth, in the charge of corruption against Colonel Northrop, may be estimated, when we state a fact known almost uniTersally in Rich- mond, that few persons suffered the privations of the war more severely tiian he. Hundreds of the most respectable gentlemen in the Booth will- ingly testify to the unimpeachable patriotism and purity of Colonel Noi-- throp. Equally false was the statement that Mr. Davis gratified merely his personal partiality in appointing Commissary-General a man who had given no previous evidence of fitness. Colonel Northrop, when in the regular Federal army, had seen extensive service in that department, where he was detailed, after having been disabled, Hia services were d by Google COI.ONRL NOKTHROP. 501 amply teatifled to by hia Buperiora, who regarded liiin as liaving peculiar qiialificaiJone for the duties of the oommisBariat. Of these facts Mr. Dayia had personal Jinowledge, tliough, when he placed Colonel Northrop at the head of the Confederate oommiasariafc, they had not met for more than twenty yeara. Again, when conunissioned hy Mr. Davis Colon 1 l\ortliiop waa the Commisaary-General of South Carolina — a position tc whiiJi he would hardlyhavebeeninTited, withoatatieast some comitticn Ij the authori- ties of that State, of his fitness. It is well known too thit a ci of the Confederate Congress investigated tie uftairs of tl Department, aad made a report which amply lud honoribly vindicated Colonel Northrop. Indeed, a memher of Ih^t i^ommittee one of the ablest men in Vu-ginia, and not friendly to Mr. Daiis declared it to be Wie best managed department of the Confederate Government Editors perpetually clamored against Colonel !Northiop for issuing half rations to the army, who daily issued half ikeels to their sub&c fibers— re- fusing to understand that in each caao the cause wts the same, viz., an exhaustion of supply, resulting fixua the depletion ol tlie resources of the country. d by Google LIFE OF JEPFBBSON DAVIS. CHAPTER XVII. AN EFFORT TO BLACffBN THE CaiBACTBR OF THE SOtTIH — THE PBKSECUTION OF BBPUTATION OF THE SOUTH FOR HnMANlty TKBATMEKT OP PRISONERS OP WAR— EARLY ACTIOM OF THE C0HPBDBE4TB QOVBKNMENT rPON TBB SUBJECT — ME, DAYIS' LETTER TO tSR. LINTOLN — THE COBB-WOOL NEOOTIATIONS PBK- PIDIOUS CONDUCT OF THE FEDERAL AUTHORITIES A OARTEL ARRANGED BY GENERALS DIS AMD HILL — C0MMIS3I0NEB OULD— HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE FEDBBAI, AGENT OP EXCHANBB BEPE4TED PEEFIDY OP THE FBDEEAL GOTERNIIBNT — SUSPENSION OP THE OAKTEL CAUSED BT THH BAD FAITH OP I. ADMINISTRATION, AND THE STJPFBRING WHICH IT CAUSED — «EW TSE OPERATION OF I— JUSTIFICATION OP THE CONFEDERATE J DICATION OF THE SOUTH AND OP MK DAVIS- HUMANITY AND FORBEARANCE— AN INQUIRY OF HISTOKT. TT is in vain to invoke the admiration of mankind for r|iial- •*- ities of greatness, displayed either in the history of a nation or the life of an individual, unless those qualities shall have been adorned by the practice of humanity and the observance of high moral obligation. Since the political fabric of the South has been overthrown, a brave and virtuous people cherish with a more tenacious afFeetion than ever, that honorable reputation which was their birthrightj and which they worthily illus- d by Google AN INFAMOUS DESIGN. 503 trated during the late war. The violent commotion with lltlA caU wbtltljco !lh d tl 1 t 1 1 gy f It t lei th 1 1 th t 1 ^Vh th t f f It I 1 d tl t g t m 1 th d tl t gjl and I ted tl tl t m t 1 i t 1 h h t t fl rnt t ntwfi feg'l cet f t Ibtt llwtrlljlf Tl d t 1 ty t tl N tl fl tlj t sat fi 1 wtl th 1 It al th w f th S. tl 1 tl il t t t ft al t m 1 f II d 1 tl t il f th F d 1 tl p t t d mil bl up th 1 ra t 1 p t t f tl & tl T ffl t gm 1 q d t t b d tl f m> I t th t — th 1 ee 1 t f tl mp t t 1 F 1 1 H 1 1 ^d m —and t g t pe petual bl 1 J c hi 1 t d tl J 1 tl f fi nulh n fieopl th f mlg nt 1 1 ss f t Th se th t h h h t gated th ff t t f m d tm nt t tl CI t ty th m -al ty d tl 1 urn nity f th So th It is t j f m f d -al t t 1 t ee y fin m nt t u ItJ p t mtdstoTihd 1 tt It mp 11 t pi p I) ny th theo y th ceit 1 g w tl wh 1 tl t n t n f tl M D lb h 1 een p 1 A th m t 1 1 bl tl So th h has been ltd tl p p 1 1 1 t | wh tovi t th if f 1 pt ll T t J fl I) fh ifesgathmnty tbil tl 1 1 1 p t d— t 1 d tl 1 ll f II tl 1 1 Tl N tl 1 11 1 b rdb, Google 604 LIFE OF JEFFEE80N DAVIS. admonished, by previous examples, of the futility of its at- tempts to prejudge historical questions of such moment. Of wliat avail were the malignity, the misrepresentation, and the unrelenting vindictiveness of England against Napoleon? As yet, the North has been unable, even by ex parte evi- dence, to obtain a pretext for the arraignment of Jefferson Davis for those atrocious crimes of \yhich it was pretended he was guilty. Even perjmy has proven inadequate to the invention of material with which to sustain a compHoity in guilt, from which his previous character alone should have vindicated him. Who can doubt tlie inevitable recoil when the investigations of history, unobsti-ucted by prejudice and passion, shall lay bare the facts upon which posterity will render its verdict? History, in such a question, will know neither North nor South, nor will it accept all testimony as truth which comes under the guise o£ "Jxyyalty," nor reject as falsehood all upon which has been placed the odium of "dis- loyalty." In this volume, we could not, even if so disposed, avoid reference to that question which so involves the honor and humanity of the South— iAe exteTd of her regard, in the con- duct of the late war, for those moral obligations which are ree- ognized by all Christian and civilized communities. The course of her enemies has left the South no alternative, and she can not be apprehensive of the result when the record is fairly consulted. "We have now reached, with a due regard for chronological order, a point where naturally arises the subject of the treat- ment of prisoners, which, in the later months of 1863, assumed its most interesting phase. "We approach the subject not with any expectation of enlightenment of the Northern mind. "Upon d by Google TEEATJIEKT OF PRISONERS, 505 this subject a large portion of the Northern people have res- olutely turned their backs upon all statementa which do not favor their sectional prejudices. Calumnies are often believed by mere force of iteration ; and so persistent has been the effort to poison the Northern mind with falsehood that at least a generation must pass away before the South can expect an im- partial hearing. Nevertheless, by grouping together, in these pages, important testimony from various sources, and confined io neither section, we hope to promote, howevei' feebly, the great end of historic truth. At an early period of the contest, the Confederate Govern- ment recognized its obligation to treat prisoners of war with humanity and consideration. Before any action was taken by Congress upon the subject, the executive authorities provided prisoners with proper quarters and barracks, and with rations — the same in quantity and quality as those furnished to the Confederate soldiers who guarded them. The first action of Congress with reference to prisoners was taken on the 21st of May, 1861. Congress then provided that "all prisoners of war taken, whether on land or at sea, during the pending hos- tilities with the United States, shall be transferred by the cap- tors from time to time, and as often as convenient, to the De- partment of War; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, with the approval of the President, to issue such in- structions to the Quartermaster-General and his subordinates as shall provide for the safe custody and sustenance of pris- oners of war ; and the rations fumised prmmers of war shall be the same in. quaniity and quality as those furnished to enlisted men in the army of the Confederacy" This declared policy of the Confederate authorities was adhered to, not only in the earlier months of tlie war, when provisions were abundant. d by Google OOb LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS, but was afterwards pursued as far as possible under the pecu- liar style of warfare waged by the North. Even amid the losses and privations to which the euemy subjected them, they sought to carry out the humane purpose of this solemn dec- laration. The first public announcement by President Davis, with respect to prisoners, was made in a letter to President Lin- coln, dated July 6th, 1861. This letter was called forth by the alleged harsh treatment of the crew of the Confederate vessel Savanriah, then prisoners in the hands of the enemy. "We extract a paragraph of this letter : "It is the desire of this Government so to oonduct the war now existing, as to mitigate its horrors as far as may be possible ; and, with this intentj its treatment of the prisoners captured by its forces Las been marked by the greatest humanity and leniency consistent with public obligation; somo have been permitted to return home on parole, others to remain at large under similar condition within this Confederacy, and all have been furnished with rations for their subsistence, such as are allowed to our own troops. It is only since tho news has been received of the treat- ment of the prisoners taken on the Savannah, that I have been compelled to withdraw these indulgences, and to hold the prisoners taken by us in strict confinement." In his message, dated July 20th, 1861, he mentioned this letter, and thus aHuded to the expected reply from President Lincoln : " I earnestly hope this promised reply (which has not yet been received) will convey the assurance that prisoners of war will bq treated, in this unhappy contest, with that regard for humanity, which has made such conspicuous progress in the conduct of modern warfare." d by Google THE WOOL-COBB CARTEL. 507 Several months elapsed, after the beginning of hostilities, before the captures on either side were sufficiently numerous to demand much consideration. A proposition was even made in the Confederate Congress, to return the Federal prisoners, taken at the first battle of Manassas, without any formality- whatever. In February, 1862, negotiations occurred between the two governments, with a view to the arrangement of a system of exchange. In these negotiations Generals Howell Cobb and Wool represented their respective Governments. The result was a cartel, by which prisoners of either side should be paroled within ten days after their capture, and delivered on the frontier of their own country. A point of difference was, however, raised, as to a provision requiring each party to pay the expense of transporting their prisoners to the ftontier. This difference General Wool reported to the Federal Govern- ment, which refused to pay these expenses. At a second in- terview, March 1st, 1862, this action of the Federal author- ities being made known to General Cobb, the latter immedi- ately conceded the point, and proposed to make the cartel con- form in all its features to the wishes of General Wool. The latter declined any arrangement, declaring "that his Govern- ment had changed his instructions," and abruptly terminated the negotiations. The explanation of this conduct was apparent. While the negotiations between Genenls Wool ind Cobb were pending. Fort Donclson had fallen, reveryni; the previous state of things, and giving the Noith an e-vcess of piisoners. These prisoners, instead of being '^ent South on paiole, were carried into the interior of the Noith, ind treated with severity and indignity. Eepudiating thif^ i^ieement, just ^^ soon as it was d by Google 508 i.iFE Of jji:i.'j.-KKS0N bavis, ascertained that their captures at Donelson placed the South at disadvantage, the Federal authorities foreshadowed that " eon- sisttntiy perfidious conduct," which President Davis declared to be characteristic of their entire course upon the subject. It was impossible to bring the Federal Government to any arrangement, until the fortune of war again pkced the Con- federates in possession of the larger number of prisona-s. An immediate consequence of the Confederate successes in tlie summer of 1862, was the indication of a more accommodating spirit by the enemy. Negotiations between General D. H. Hiii, on behalf of the Confederate authorities, and General John A. Bis, on behalf of his Government, resulted in the adoption of a new cartel of a completely satisfactory and humane char- acter. Under this cartel, which continued in operation for twelve months, the Confederate authorities restored to the enemy many thousands of prisoners in excess of those whom they held for exchange, and encampments of the surplus pa- roled prisoners were established in the United States, where the men were able to receive the comforts and solaee of con- stant communication with their homes and families. In July, 1863, the fortune of war again favored the enemy, and they were enabled to exchange for duty the men previously de- livered to them, against those captured and paroled at Vicks- burg and Port Hudson. The prisoners taken at Gettysburg, however, remained in their hands, and should have been at once returned to the Confederate lines on parole, to await ex- change. Instead of executing a duty imposed by the plainest dictates of justice and good faith, pretexts were instantly* sought for holding them in permanent captivity. General oi-ders rapidly succeeded each other from the bureau at "Wash- ington, placing new constructions on an agreement which had d by Google PERFIDY OP THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 509 given rise to no dispute while the Confederates retained the advantage in the number of prisoners. "With a disregai-d of honorable obligations, almost unexampled, the Federal au- thorities did not hesitate, in addition to retaining the prisoners captured by them, to declare null the paroles given by the prisoners oaptured by the Confederates in the same aeries of engagements, and liberated on condition of not again serving until exchanged. They then openly insisted on treating the paroles given by their own soldia's as invalid, and those of Confederate soldiers, given under precisely similar circum- stances, as binding. A succession of similar unjust pretensions was maintained in a correspondence tediously prolonged, and every device employed, to cover the disregard of an obliga- tion, which, between belligerent nations, is only to be enforced by a sense of honor. We have not space sufficient for even a sketch of the pro- tracted correspondence, which ensued between the commission- ers of exchange, respecting the suspension of the cartel. In its progress Commissioner Ould triumphantly vindicated the action of the Confederate Government, in every instance meeting in an unanswerable manner, the counter-charges of tlie Federal authorities. The South can require no better re- cord of its honorable and humane conduct, than is furnished by this correspondence. The Confederate Government was singularly fortunate in the selection of Mr. Ould, who unites to a most honorable and amiable character, an intellect of un- usual vigor and astuteness, as was abundantly shown in his conclusive demonstrations of the perfidious conduct of the authorities at Washington. For twelve months a;fter the date of the cartel (that is, until after the battle of Gettysburg), the Confederates held a con- d by Google 510 UPE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. siderable excess of prisoners. It has never been allege(!, amid all tlie calumny which has assailed the South, that during this period, the Federal prisoners (unless held on serious charges), were not promptly delivered. Commissioner Ould several times urged the Federal authoritias to send increased trans- portati(m for their prisoners. On the other hand, numberg of Confederate officers and soldiers were kept in irons and dun- geons, in many instances without even having charges pre- ferred against tliem. On the 26th July, 1863, Commissioner Ould said in a lef^ ter to the Federal Agent of Exchange : "Now that our official connection is being terminated, I say to you in the fear of God — and I appeal to him for the truth of the declaration — that there has been no single moment, from the time we were first brought together in connection with the matter of ex- change, to the present hour, during which there has not been an open and notorious violation of the cartel, by your author- ities. Officers and men, numbering over hundreds, have been, during your whole connection with the cartel, kept in cruel confinement, sometimes in irons, or doomed to cells, without charges or trial The last phase of the enormity, however, exceeds all others. Although you have many thou- sands of our soldiers now in confinement in your prisons, and especially in that horrible hold of death. Fort Delaware, yon have not, for several weeks, sent us any prisoners For the first two or three times some sort of an excuse was attempted. None is given at this present arrival. I do not mean to be offensive when I say that effrontery could not give one." In reply to these and similar charges by Commissioner Ould, which he, in repeated instances, substantiated by naming d by Google colojh-el ould'h ciiarges. 511 the Cknifei3a-at€ officers and soldiers thus shamefully treated, the enemy retorted ^¥ith a charge of similar treatment of Fed- eral prisoners. Yet the prison records of the Confederacy, in no instance, show the detention of prisoners while the cartel was in operation, unless held under grave charges. Commis- sioner Ould, in his letter of August 1, lS63,effeetualIy silenced this replication. Said he : " You have claimed and esercised the right to retain officers and men indefinitely, not only upon charges actually preferred, but upon mere suspicion. Yott have now in custody officers who were in confinement when the cartel was framed, ajid who have since been declared ex- changed. Some of tliem have been tried, but most of them have languished in prison all the weary time without trial or charges. I stand prepared to prove these assertwns. This course was pursued, too, in the face not only of notice, but of protest. Do you deny to us the right to detain officers and men for trial upon grave charges, while yon claim the right to keep in confinement any who may be the object of your suspicion or special enmity?" The paroles issued after capture were respected by both parties, until, about the middle of 1863, the Federal authori- ties declared void the parolea of thousands of their soldiers, who had been sent North by the Confederate Government. At that time, it is noteworthy, the Federal Government bad no lists of paroled prisoners to be charged against the Confed- eracy. The latter had previously discharged all its obligations from its large excess of prisoners, leaving still a large balance in their favor unsatisfied. In this condition of affairs. Com- missioner Ould was notified that "exchanges will be confined to such equivalents as are held in confinement on either side." Afier such a display of perfidy, no surprise should be ocea- d by Google 512 LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS. eioned hy the subsequent action of the Federal authorities. This announcement, in unmiatakablo phraseology, meant sim- ply that, as the Confederates had returned equivalente for all paroles held against them, and the Federals held no paroles to be charged against the Confederacy, hereafter no exchange would be made except for men actually in captivity. In other words, having received all the benefits which they could from the observance of the cai-tel, the Federal Government openly repudiated it, the moment that its operation would favor their antagonists. Commissioner Ould promptly declined the per- Mious proposition of the enemy, which would have continued thousands of Confederate soldiers in prison, atler their Govern- ment had returned all prisoners in their possession, and yet held the paroles of Federal soldiers, largely exceeding in num- ber the Confederate soldiers held captive by the enemy. Sub- sequently the Federal ofiicers and soldiers, in violation of their paroles, and without being declai-ed exchanged, were ordered back to their commands. Commissioner Ould then very prop- erly declared exchanged an equal number of Confederate officers and men, who had been paroled by the enemy at "Vicksburg. With these transactions ended all exchanges under that provision of the cartel which provided the delivery' of prison- ers within ten days. All subsequent deliveries of prisoners were made by special agreement. The facts which we have stated, showing the suspension of the cartel to have been oc- casioned by the bad faith of the Federal Government, are upon record, and can not be disputed. They are accessible to every Northern reader, who may feel disposed to satisfy his judg- ment, hy facts, rather than to foster prejudices based upon the most monstrous falsehoods, ever invented in the interest of fanaticism and hate. The suspension of the caiiiGl was the d by Google THE CARTEL SUSPENDED. 513 direct cause of those terrible sufferings which were afterwards endured by the true men of both sides. It led directly to the hardsiiips, the exposure, and hunger of Andersonville, the c>ueltie5 )f Cimp Dougla the fieezing of Confedeiitt soldiers upon the bleik chores of tlie Noithein like nnd those count le.'is woes which aic enduted by the occupints of mihtuj pus ons, e-sen when conducted upon the most humine sjstem Having bt.£.n guilty of i shinieful viohtiun of futh tht. Fed em,l Gjveinment persisted m i policy i\hich wis not cnl> cruel to the South, but biought upon the bra\t men who weie fighting its btttle& the sufferings which the Noith has talwlv pictuied with eveiy conceivable teituie ot horror and atiocity Until the end of the w ir the Confedci ite Gr vemraent con tmued its efforts to secure the renewed opeiation? of the iix tel— 1 policy whirh humanitj to its own defenders demanded Vi h) it W18 nit rcne-ned the moti\es whuh dittited a policy which oct,asiuned in tluiost unexampled dcgiee of humin suf feiiHg IB 1 question abunlmtH ansnertd in the testimony heic id luted, the most conclu'^ive poitions of which comes fiom Northern sources In January, 1864, it was plain from the disposition of the enemy that the majority of the piisoners of both sides were doomed to confinement for many weary months, if not until the end of the war. Under this impression. Commissioner Ould wrote the following letter, which was promptly delivered to the Federal Agent of Exchange : "COKFBDEKATB StATES OF AmBEICA, WaK DEPARTMENT, ) "EioHMoND, Va,, January 24, 1864. | " Mqjnr-Gmeral E. A. Hitchcock, Agent of Exehange — " Sir: In view of the present difficulties atteflding the esohaDge and release of prisoners, I propose that ai! such on either side 33 d by Google 514 LIFE OP JBFFEIISON DAVIS. shall be attended by a proper niimlier of tteir own surgeons, who, under rules to be established, shall be permitted to take charge of their health and comfort, I also propose that these surgeons shall act as commissaries, with power to receive and distribute such contributions of money, food, clothing, and medicines as may be forwarded for the relief of the prisoners. I further propose that these surgeons shall be selected by their own GJoTernment, and that they shall have full liberty, at any and all thnes, through the Ageats of Exchange, to make reports not only of their own acts, but of any matters relating to the welfare- of the pmtmers. " Respectfully, your obedient servant, "ROBERT OULD, "Agsni of Exchange," To this humane proposition no answ&- was ever made. It is needless to depict the alleviation of misery which its adoption would have secured. Can there be but one interpretation of the motives of those who rejected this noble offer? These propositiona are indeed extraordinary, in view of the obloquy heaped upon the Confederate authorities for their alleged in- difference to the health and comfort of their prisoners. Most noticeable, however, is the invitation extended to the Fed- eral authorities to investigate, and report to the world, the treatment and condition of Federal soldiers in Southern prisons. But this is far from completing the evidence which convicts the Tederal Government of a purpose to trade upon the suf- ferings of their prisoners, and thus inflame the resentment of the North during the war, and shows the malignant purpose of a faction to establish a foul libel upon the South in th^ mind of posterity. On the 10th of August, 1864, Commis- sioner Ould wrote as follows; d by Google HmiANE EFFORTS OP COLONEL OULD. 515 "1/jor J I E Mifo d vlssi iant Agent of Exrhaigc— biE lull hdve several tiniBS proposed to mo to esoliangi, the prisoners lesjiectiVLly held by tte two belli^erenta offictr ior ofii cer, and man ior man The same offer his also bei,n made hj other o9i(,ul6 hiving ehirgp of matteis coonerted with the ex chan^p ot prisoners This pnpo^al has heretjfoio heen decline 1 by the C onfu derate authunties they insistin^ upm the teima i the cartel which required the delivery of the LSLebs en eitJit Bide upon paiole In view howevei of the veiy Ui^e nun II of prisoners now held by eich.paitj ind the sufieiing conseiuent upon thoir continued eonflnemeut I now consent to the aboie proposal and agree to deliver to you the prisoners held in ij tivity by the Confederite authorities provided you a^ree t de liver an eijudl numbei of Confederate jfficeis and men ^.\ equal numheis ait delnued from time to time thoy will be de chreJ esih'inged Ihis proposal is male with the undeistindin,, that the offibeis an 1 men oa buth sides who have been longest m captivity will be fl st dehvLrel where it la piatiicible I shall be happy to hear fiom you is speedily as possible whethei this arrangement can be carried oat " Kespectfully, your obedient ser^int "ROBERT OULD, "Agent of Exchange." It will be sGsn that the Confederate authorities, by this proposition, consented to waive al! previous questions, to eon- cede every point to the enemy, that could fiicilitate the release from captivity of its own soldiers and those of the North. As an inducement to action by the Federal authorities, this letter was accompanied by a statement exhtbiiing the mortality among the. prisoners at Andersonvilk. Receiving no reply. Commis- sioner Ould made the same proposition to General Hitchcock, d by Google 516 LIFE OF JEPFEESON DAVIS. in "Washington. The latter making no response, application was made again to Major Mulford, who replied as follows : "^oij. B, Ou/d, Agent of Exchange— "SiK: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of to-day, requesting answer, etc., to your comnmnication of the loth inat., on the questiori of the exchange of prisoners, to which, in reply, I wonld say, I have no communication on the subject from our authorities, nor am I yet authorized to make any. " I am, air, very respectfully, your obedient servant, "JOHN E. MULFORD, "Assistant Agent of Exchange." Nothing could exceed the generosity of this offer. When it was made, the North had a large excess of prisoners. By this arrangement every Federal soldier would have been released from captivity, while a large surplus of Confederates would have remained in the enemy's hands. The bmtal calculation of the Federal authorities was that an exchange would add so many thousands of muskets to the depleted ranks of the Con- federacy, and would, beside.?, deprive them of every pretext for the manufecture of chapters of "rebel barbarities." It was known to the world that the means of subsistence in the South was so reduced — chiefly through the cruel warfare waged by the North — that Confederate soldiers were then sub- sisting upon a third of a pound of meat, and a pound of indiffer- ent meal or flour each day. Upon such rations, half naked, thousands of them barefooted. Confederate soldiers were ex- posed to sufferings unexampled in history. How could it be possible, under such circumstances, to prevent suffering among the prisoners? Military prisons, under the most favorable d by Google ME. DAV.TS' STATEJSENT OF THE 1[ATTEK. 517 circumstances, are miserable enough, but the Federal prisoiiei-s in the South were compelled to endure multiplied and aggra- vated miseries, imposed by the condition of the South — shared by their captors, and by the -women and children of the country ■which they invaded. But what possible palliation can there be for the guilt of a Government which willfully subjected its defenders to horrors which it so blazoned to the world ? De- claring that " rebel pens " were worse than Neapolitan prisons and Austrian dungeons, the Federal authorities yet persistently rejected offers of exchange. There could be no more forcible presentation of the question than that made by President Davis ; Ithmt ytt 1 tdfltlil m d t q t th jl ta til U t 1 t t i th 1 t d 1 1 f t! p h 1 h hi t d t 1 1 y th tel t t 1 th t by th g dl t k t w tl 1 t wh f pi Attempt ImdthUtlml fmth t t d by th w d t tm t f ffi d Id w jt tb b 1 by m t t t b tb t th p bldby dpdffdTtbilt t th 1 w b b 1 tb t d w tb ur 1 w 1 th g 1 1 f tb d p t t tl t f tb p p ly tb m J t ty d q 1 ty tb d tt w ^ 11 t U tb fi Id d 1 hh b f 1 a t t pp t th tb d mp wb ] t t p t d d by tb my tb t tb y f t p by th m g 1 By 11 1 h p p d ted w b 1! w d th p b I t I supplied by their friends at home with comforts not enjoyed by tbe men who captured them in battle. In contrast to this treatment. d by Google 518 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. the most revolting inhumanity haa characterized the eonduet of the United States towards prisoners held bj them. One prom- inent fact, which admits no denial nor palliation, must suffice as a test ; The officers of our army^natives of southern and semi- tropical climates, and unprepared for the cold of a northern win- ter— have heen conveyed for imprisonment, during the rigors of the present season, to the moat northern and exposed situation that could be selected by the enemy. There, beyond the reach m d mm y h d d h Om Since the war, Cnrnmlssioner Ould has given testimony of the most eonclusi\e character. "While the subject of the treat- ment of prisoners was pending in Congress, during the past summer, he wrote the following letter. It will be observed that he offers to prove his statements by the testimom/ of Federal "Washington, July 23, 18G7, "To the Editors cf the National Intelligencsr-— " I respectfully request the publication of the following letter, received by me from Colonel Robert Quid, of Richmond. It wil! d by Google COLOSEL OULDS LETTER. aW be peroeived that it fully sustains my statflment in tlie House, with the unimportant exception of the number of prisoners offered to he exchanged, without equivalent, by the Confederate authori- ties. Very respectfully, "CHARLES A. ELDRIDGE." "EicHMOWD, July 19, 1867, "Hon. Gharks A. Eldridgs — " My Dear Sir i I have seen your remarks as published. They are substantially correct. Every word that I said to you in Rich- mond is not only true, but can be proved by Federal officers. I did offer, in August, to deliver the Federal sick and wounded, without requiring equivalents, and urged the necessity of haste in sending for tbem, as the mortality was terrible. I did offer to de- liver from ten to fifteen thousand at Savannah without delay. Although this offer was made in August, transportation was not sent for them until December, and during the interval, the mor- tality was perhaps at its greatest height. If I had not made the offer, why did the Federal authorities send transportation to Savan- nah fcr ten or fifteen thousand men? If I made the offer based only on equivalents why did the --ame transp citation Cd,rry down foi delivery only thne thousinl men? "Butler says the offer was made in the fall (according to the newspiper repoit) and that seven thjusand were deliveied The offer w IS made m August, and they were sent for la Deoembei I then deliverei mire than thiiteen thousand, and would have j,one to the fifteen thousini if the Fedbrd trinspoitatirn had been sufficient My instiuotion" to my aj;eDts were to delivei fifteen thousand sick and wounded ind if thit number of that clnss were not on hand to mike up the number by well men The offpr was made by me in pursuinoc of inotrULtious from the Confederate Secretary of War. I was ready to keep up the arrangement until every sick and wounded man had been returned. d by Google 520 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. " The three thousand men sent to Savannah by the Federals ■were in as wretched a condition as any detachment of prisoners erer sent from a Confederate prison. "All these things are susceptible of proof, and I am much mis- taken if I can not prove them by Federal authority. I am quite sure that Gfeneral Mulford mil sustain every allegatioa here made. " Yours truly, R. OULD. " P. S. — General Butler's correspondence is all on one side, as I was instructed, at the date of his letters, to hold no correspond- ence with him. I corresponded with Mulford or Genera! Hitch- cock. "R. OULD." In another letter, written about the same time, Colonel Ould thus invites investigation ; " General Mulford will sustain every thing I have herein writ- ten. He is a man of honor and courage, and I do not think will hesitate to tell the truth. I think it would be well for you to make the appeal to him, as it has become a question of veracity," But though President Davis and Colonel Ould are known by thousands of people. North and South, to be men of unim- peachable truthfulness, and though no honorable enemy would question their statements, we can not hope that their testimony will make headway against the intolerant prejudices and pas- sions of faction. General B. F. Butler is doubtless sufficiently orthodox, and, besides, his testimony is volmitary. Says this exponent of latter-day " loyalty : " " The great importance of the question ; the fearful responsibil- ity for the many thousands of lives which, by the refusal to ex- change, were sacrificed by the most cruel forms of death; from cold, starvation, and pestilence of the prison-pens of Ealeigh and Aodersonville, being more than all the British soldiers killed in d by Google GENERAL BUTLER AND THE "tRIEUNK." 521 the wars of Napoleon; the anxiety of fathers, hrothers, sisters, motLers, wives, to know the exigency which caused this terrible — and perhaps as it may have seemed to them useless and unneces- sary— destruction of those dear to them, hy horrible deaths, each and all have compelled me to this exposition, so that it may he seen that these lives were spent as a part of the system of attack upott the rohellion, devised by the wisdom of the General-in-Chief of the armies, to destroy it hy depletion, depending upon our su- perior numbers to win the victory at last. " The loyal mourners will doubtless derive solace from this fact, and appreciate alt the more highly the genius which conceived the plan and the success won at so great a cost." The New York Tkibwne -will also be accepted as competent authority. Referring to the occurrences of 1864, tlie Tribune editorially says: " In August the rebels offered to renew the exchange, man for man General Grant then telegraphed the tollowin^ important order 'It is Laid on oui men, held in Southern prisons not to exchange them, but it is humanitj to those left m the ranks to fight oui battles Every man released on parule or utheiwi'^c be comeo in active boldiei against us at once, eithei direitly oi mdi rectly If we commence a syste^n of ea^Jiange which liheiates all pruoncTs taien, we will have to fight on till the whole frouth is exterminated If we hold those caught, they amount to no more th^n dead men At this particuhr time, to release all lebel pris oneri North would m^uie Phermdu a defeat, ind would fompro mise OUI safety here ' ' Here is even a stronger statement from a Northern source : "New York, August 8, 1865. " Moreover, General Butler, m Ms speeeh at Lowell, Massachusetts, that he had been ordered by Mr. Stanton to put for- d by Google 522 LIFE OF JEFEEESON DAVI9. ward the negro question to compUmle and prevent the exchange. Every one is aware that, when tlie exchange did take place, not the slightest alteration had occurred in the ques- tion, and thai our prisoners might as vietl have bem released twelve or eighteen months before as at the resumption of the cartel, which would have saved to the Republic at hast twelve or fifteen, thomand heroic lives. That they were not saved \% due aUme to Mr. Edwin M. Sla/nlon'a peculiar polio/ and dogged ohslmacy; and, as I have BEMAEKED BEPOaB, HE IS UNQCTESTIONABLY THE DIGGER OF THE UNNAMED GRAVES THAT CROWD THE VICINITY OP EVERY SoDTII- ERN PRISON WITH HISTORIC AND NEVER-TO-BE-PORGOTTEN HOR- " I regret the reviva] of this painful subject, but the gratuitous effort of Mr. Dana to relieve the Secretary of War from a respon- sibility he seems willing to bear, and which merely as a question of policy, independent of all considerations of humanity, must be regarded ae of great weight, has compelled me to vindicate myself from the charge of making grave statements without duo consid- eration. " Once for all, let me declare that I have never found fault with any one becanae I was detained in prison, for I am well aware that that was a matter in which no one but myself, and possibly a few personal friends, would feel any interest ; that my sole motive for impeaching the Secretary of War was that the people of the loyal North might know to ■whom they were indebted for the cold-blooded and needless sacrifice of their fathers and brothers, their husbands and their sons. "JUNIUS HENRI BROWNE." Now, wliat is the "inexorable logic" of this train of evi- dence? Either the calumnies against the South stand self- convicted, or those who have uttered them show themselves d by Google THE SOTTTH ACQUITTED. 623 to have been worse fiends than they pretend to believe the Confederate authorities to have been. But can a candid world credit the charge of cruelty against the South? Honorable enemies, even, ■will scorn the allegation of torture, of designedly inflicting suffering upon helpless men, against a people who, within the past six years, have so hon- orably illustrated the American name. Brave men are never cruel — cowards only delight in torture of the helpless. Cru- elty to prisoners would be inconsistent not only with the known generosity of the Southern character, but with that splendid courage which the North will not dishonor itself by calling in question. Until the suspension of the cartel, the Federal prisoners, even at the risk of their recapture, were kept in Richmond convenient for exchange. Confederate prisoners, on the other hand, were hurried to the Northern frontier, where the rigor of the climate alone subjected them to the most cruel suffer- ings. Driven by the course of the Federal Government, re- specting the subject of exchange, the Confederate authorities selected a site for the quartering of prisoners, whom it was impossible to subsist in Richmond or its neighborhood. An- dersonvUle was selected, in accordance with an official order contemplating the following objects : "A healthy locality, plenty of pure, good water, a running stream, and, if possible, shade trees, and in the immediate neighborhood of grist and saw- mills." Such were the "horrors of Andersonville," which the world has been urged to believe the Confederate Government selected with special view to the torment and death of pris- oners. The terrible mortality among the prisoners at Andersonville was not due either to starvation or to the unhealthiness of the d by Google 524 LIFE OF JEFFJi:RSON DAVIS. locality. Federal soldiers were unaccustomed to the scanty and indifferent diet upon wliich the Confederates were fed, and which caused the death of thousands of delicate yonths in the Southern armies. By this singie feet may be explained much of the mortality at Andersoaville. When to scurvy and other fetal forms of disease, produced by inadequate and unwholesome diet, are added the mental sufferings, which are peculiarly the lot of a prisoner, the despondency, and, in the case of tlie An- dersonvilie prisoners, the despair occasioned by the refusal of their own Government to relieve them, we have abundant ex- planation of the most shocking mortality. But tlie statement that the mortality of Andersonville was in excess of that of all other military prisons, is a willful false- hood. We present the following extracts from a letter to the New York WorM, by a gentleman, whose integrity will be vouehetl for by thousands of the best people in Virginia : PEISON MORTALITY— ANDBESONVIT.LE AND ELMIEA. „ _ "ElBHMOND, Va., August 14 "To the Mitor of the World— "Sir: I have just aeon, m % city pipei a p^rigriph credited to the World, alleging that among the Confedeiate prisoners at El mira, during the last four or five months of the use of thit j,ii=on the deaths only amounted to a few individud" out of many thou sand prisoners. I am not able to controveit that tact as I left there on the 11th of October 1S64 but if the impression dumed to be produced is that the general moitahty at that pen was slight I can contradiot it from the record Duiing a poibon of the pciiod of my incaroeration in the Elmita pen it was my duty to leceive from the surgeon's office, each mornin,, the lepoits of the dejtho of the preceding day, and emhod> them m an offi ul rep it to 1 e signed by the commandant ot the fn^on and foiwjrded to the d by Google ELMIEA AND ANDEIi80NVIi.LE., 525 oommandant of the post. I entered, each morning, in a diary, which now lies before me, the number of reported deaths ; and the facts demonstrate that, in as healthy a location as there is in New York, with every remedial appliance in abundance, with no epidemic, and with a great hoaat of humanity, the deaths were relatively larger than among the Federal prisoners at Andersonville among a famished people, whose quartermaster could not furnish shelter to its soldiers, and whose surgeons were without the commonest medi- cines for the sick. The record shows that at Andersonviile, be- tween the let of February and 1st of August, 1864, out of thirty- ais thousand prisoners, six thousand, or one-sixth, died — a fearful rate unquestionably. But the official report of the Elmira pen shows, that during tho month of September, 1864, which was the first month after the quota of that prison was made up, out of less than mne thousand Jive hundred prisotiers, the deaths were three HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SIX, In other woi'ds, the average mortality it AndersouMlle, duiing thit porif d was one thirty "iixth of the whole pe" month while at Elmira it was one iw-nty fiph of the whole At Elmira it wis foui ;per ctnt , at AndeisonYille lt=s than three pi-i cent "Anothei item which I gather from my dwry will inlintc the manner m which the medicil oificei it Elmira dischaiged hi& func tions The boipital" began to bo filled in the Kttor part of Au gust with obstinate cases of scurvy Men became covered with feirful Bores many lost their teeth and many others became crip pies, and will die cripples from that cause The commandaBt of the post oidciLd a report to be made of all the bcoibutie f^se^ in prison grave and tuiling, and on the morning of "^undjy SnpUm ber 11, the lists were idded up when it was found that f nine thousand three hundred prisoners examined, eighteen handled urd sev nty weie tainted with "curvy "The Federal Government, as one of its measures of reconstruc- tion, is of&cially and expensively engaged in traducing the South- d by Google 526 LIFE OF JEl'PEEBON DAVIS. em people and tie faulitj with wl eh t p cuies il! necessary evideu e whether the otjeet be to hang or to cal mn ate warrjntB the helief thit we shall have a couple of volumes a yeai for the rest of the ceituiy demonstrating thi, barbaiity of the rel el'* Agiinst n admirable a system of manufaoturing evidence it is of course idle to oppose tho feeble eff its of mdiv d uls but I legard the lutj none th lesa binJinj, on such of us a know the tiuth to de lare it and I hope that thiou^h it the Southcin States intel hgent and creliHe men re now puttug into authentii, t rm the evilences of Feieral outrages the exploits of the Sheimanf *nl ^heridans and Milroys and Butlers one djy to b published by general subscription of oui pe pie that the world may judge be tween ua and the spoon thievea the furniture thieve the barn burners the bummers and the 1 rutes who too often w le the uni form of the Federal army. "A. M. K." Can the North expect impartial history to accept its miser- able subterfuge of " disloyalty," by which such testimony as, this is now excluded ? Any reference to this subject must be wholly inadequate ■which does not describe the condition of the South at the pe- riod when she is alleged to have been guilty of unexampled atrocities. The blockade of the South by the North was strin- gent beyond any precedent in modem warfere. Medicines were held as contraband. Southern hospitals were not supplied, for that reason, with all the medicaments that were needed by sick and wounded soldiers; and those who were prisoners in our hands necessarily shared, in this respect, the privations of the Confederate soldiers. But if there was any thing " cruel and inhuman " in this deficiency, whose fault was it ? Of whom, is the cruelty and inhumanity to be alleged ? The South searched d by Google DEVASTATIOH OP THE SOUTH. 527 her forests and meadows for restoratives. She ran in medi- cines, as &r as practicable, at great cost and hazard. We shared our stores with our prisoners. If the supply was inad- equate or ill-assorted, we again ask, are we to be charged with cruelty and inhumanity ? The same observations are applicable as to supplies of food and clothing. The war was waged, by the North, on the policy of unsparing devastation. Mills were burnt, factories demolished, bams given to the flames, and the means of com- fort and of living destroyed on system. What the South was able to save, she shared with her prisoners. We gave them such rations as we gave our own soldiers. Does any one sus- pect the Confederate Government of deliberately stinting its own soldiers? How, then, can it be pretended that it was " cruel and inhuman " to prisoners whom it fed as well ? If we could not maintain them as well as we wished, it was through the success of those who wasted our subsistence, for the purpose of reducing us to that precise condition of inability. It is obviously trumstrotis to charge the fact, and to charge it as blame, upon its — to accuse the South of " cruelty and inhu- manity." * *We present two resolutions of a series adopted by Federal prisoners of war: "Resolved, That whilst allowing the Confederate authorities all due prwso for the attention paid to our prisoners, numbers of our men are daily consigned to early graves in the prime of manhood, far from home and kindred, and this is not caused intentionally by the Confederate Government, but by the force of eiroumstances ; the prisoner is obliged to go without shelter, and, m a great portion of cases, without medicine. "■Resolved, That whereas, in the fortune of war, it was our lot to become prisoners, we have suffered patiently, and are still willing to suffer, if by d by Google 528 I.IFE OF JEFI'EESOM DAVIS. But there is still another revelation to be added to the over- whelming evidence which demonstrates the murderous purpose of the Federal authorities, equally toward their own men and toward Confederate soldiers, by which tliey adroitly sought to cover the Confederate Government with accusing blood. A marked feature in the policy of the Lincoln cabinet was, at concerted intervals, to inflame the heart of the North by ap- peals to passion and resentment. The supreme excellence of the Federal administration, in this respect, was, indeed, its substitute for statesmanship. To conceal its own iniquitous course, with reference to the exchange of prisonera, the admin- istration successfully sought to frenzy the Northern masses by the most ingenious misrepresentations of the condition of their men in the Southern prisons. To this end the foul brood of pictorial falsifiers — the Har- peis, Leslies, etc. — gave willing and effective aid. Men in the most horrible conditions of human sufFering — ghastly skele- tons, creatures demented from sheer misery— -a set of wretched, raving, and dying creatures— were photographed, the pictures reduplicated to an unlimited extent, and scattered broadcast over the North, as evidence of the brutality practiced upon 80 doing we can benefit the country, but ws woidd most respeclfuUy beg to say that we are not willing to suffer to further the ends of any party or clique, to tlie detriment of our own honor, our familiea, and our country; and we would beg this affiiir be explained to us, that we may continue to hold the GoTcmment m the respect which is necessary to make a good citizen and a soldier. BRADLEY, "Ghairman of Committee, on behalf of Prisoners." These resolutions were adopted at a meeting of pFisoners in Sayannali, September 28, 1864, and sent to President Lincoln. d by Google KEKEWED PEI'.FIDY. 52!) Federal prisoners in the South. In view of the well-known and designed influence of these appeals upon Northern sentiment, ivhat must be the scorn of the civilized world for the perfidy ■which used the means which we here relate, to accomplish its iniquitous ends? Immediately preceding the return of these prisoners, the Federal Agent applied for the delivery of the worst eases of sick Federal prisoners. Said he : " Even in eases where your surgeons think the men too ill to be moved, and not strong enough to survive the trip, if they express a desire to come, let them come." At this time, it should be remembered, reg- ular exchanges were intermitted. Commissioner Ould, con- sistently with his known humanity and the humane disposi- tion of his Government, consented to send the word cases of their prisoners, provided that they would not be accepted as representatives of the average condition of the Federal pris- oners in the South, and used as a means to inflame Northern sentiment. This condition was sacredly pledged. "With this understanding. Commissioner Ould prepared a barge adapted specially to the purpose, and, with the aid of the Eichmond Ambulance Committee, carefully and tenderly delivered the prisoners. The Federal vessel that received them sailed immediately to Annapolis, where, instead of re- ceiving the tender treatment that their pitiable condition re- quired, they were made a spectacle of for an obvious purpose. Phot<^raphic artists made portraits of them ; a committee of Congress was sent to report upon their condition; in short, they had been obtained for a purpose; and, how well that purpose was subserved, the South, at least, well knows. These miserable wrecks of humanity, specially asked for, specially selected as the worst cases, were pointed to as representativG'^ d by Google 530 Lli'E OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. of the average state of Federal prisoners in the South, altliOugh the most sacred assurances had been given that they would be used for no such purpose. History will be searched in vain for suoh an example of mingled wickedne^, perfidy, and cruelty. Yet the faction that could practice such treachery and barbarity has dared to impeach the honor and humanity of the Soutli, Through such means, it, of course, can easily be proven that the South "starved and tortured" thousands of Union prisoners. Nor can Stanton, Holt, and Conover have difficulty in proving that these cruelties were by direct order of President Davis. Need we pursue this subject further? We have not, ad- duced one-tenth of the evidence which completes the record of Southern justice and humanity, yet -what candid mind will deny that this testimony is ample? The vindication of the Sduth, too, is the assured defense of Jefferson Davis. Nay, more : the exceptional victim of Northern malice is known to his countrymen to have a special record of humanity which should have claimed a special consideration from the enemy. Upon no subject was President Davis more censured in the South than for what was termed his "ill-timed tenderness" for the enemy. Stung to madness by t3ie devastations and cruelties attending the invasion of their country, the people often responded to the clamor of the newspapers for retaliation against the harsh measures of the enemy. Before the writer is a Richmond newspaper, of date during the war, in which the leading editorial begins with the assertion that "The chivalry and humanity of Mr. Jefferson Davis will inevitably ruin this Confederacy," and the editor continues to reproach Mr. DavJs for culpable leniency. To the same alleged cause the Examiner was accustomed to d by Google MUMAisrry of me. davis. 531 attribute what it described as the " humiliating attitude of the Confederacy. Said the Examviier: "The enemy have gone from one unmanly cruelty to another, encouraged by their im- punity, till they are now, and have for some time, been inflict- ing on the people of this country the worst horrors of barbar- ous and uncivilized war." Yet, in spite of all this, the Ex- aminer alleged, that Mr. Davis, in his dealings with the enemy, was " as gentle as the sucking dove." The same paper pub- lished a "bill of fare" provided for one of the prisons, and invoked the indignation of the country upon a policy which fed the prisoners of the enemy better than the soldiers of the Never, indeed, did the ruler of an invaded people exhibit such forbearance in the face of so much provocation. When reminded of the relentless warfare of the enemy, which spared neither age, sex, nor condition, of his devastation, rapine and violence, Davis' invariable reply was : " The crimes of our enemies can not justify us in a disregard of the duties of humanity and Christianity." There can be little doubt that Mr. Davis occasionally erred in his extreme generosity to the foe. Yet, how noble must be that fame, which is marred only by such a fault. History has canonized Lamartine for pre- venting the re-raising of the red flag in 1848. What will be its award to the heroic firmness of Jefferson Davis, in pre- ventmg the raising of the black flag, among a people, whose dearest rights were assailed, whose homes were destroyed, and themselves subjected to the most ruthless persecutions known in modem warfcre? But apart from the peijured testimony, which has been ut- terly inadequate to establish the charge of " cruelty to prison- ei-s," has the time passed, when the honorable character of a d by Google 532 LIFE OP JEPPERSON DAVIS. people and of an individual can be properly considered ? The whole history of the United States does not exhibit a public career more stainless than that of Jefferson Davis, while in the service of the Union. Occupying almost every position of honor and trust, in both houses of Congress, member of the cabinet, and as a gallant soldier, the breath of slander never once tarnished his name. To his incorruptible official and private integrity, to the sincerity of his convictions, and the rectitude and honesty of his intentions, no men could better testify than those Eepnbliean Senators, who were, for years, his associates. Indeed, Mr. Davis has been peculiar in his complete exemption from that personal defamation, which is almost a necessity of political life. But, impartial history will ash, whence come these calumnies against the great, pure, and pious leader of a brave people, in a struggle for liberty? Then must come that inevitable re- ooii, which shall bring to just judgment, a government, which destroyed the houses and the food of non-combatants; the fruits of the earth and the implements of tillage ; which con- demned it-s own defenders to imprisonment and death ; which imprisoned without charges, gray-haired men, and doomed them to tortures, which brought them to premature graves ; exposed helpless women and children to starvation, by depriv- ing them of their natural protectors; which declared medicines contraband of war, and finally sought, by peijury, to justify cruelty to a helpless captive, because his people, in the midst of starvation, could not adequately feed and nurture the cap- tive soldiers of the enemy. d by Google rorULAR FEELING. CHAPTER XVIII. BICATIONS O DBai^JSDBNCY OF THE NOKTH— THE PKOBLBM OP ENDURANCE PEBPAEATIONS OP THE OONPBDBRiTB GOV- ERNMENT MILITARY SUCCESS THE GREAT DESIDERATUM A SBEIBS OP SUC- CESSES— PINSBGAN'S TICTOEY IB PLORIDA — SHEKMAh's 'KB S VICTORY THE VALUE MINOR TICTOEIBS CONCENTEATION POB THE GKBAT STBU0GLB3 IN L PKEPAGATIOSS- L FOEICES B CONFEDERACY THE " ON TO RICHMOND' OP BUTLER, AND 1 COMBINATIONS CONSTANTLY H JAMES HIS PAl LORES RE- COMBINATIONS AGAIN BROKEN "pvESPITE the solid advantages obtained by the North in JJ the campaign just ended, the close of the wmter devel- oped the existence of great apprehension at Washington, and a correspondingly improved feeling in the South. It was in- deed remarkable that the conviction entertained by both sides, that the struggle was now about to assume its latest and do- d by Google 5-^4 LIFK OF JJJFFEKSON DAVIS. cisive phase, should have evoked such different manifestations of feeling at Washington and Eichmond, At the North was seen a singular apathy, whieh temporarily cheeked overwrought displays of popular exultation, and a mutual distrust of the Government and the public, not at all encouraging of success in designs demanding zealous coopera- tion. The thoughtful observer of Northern sentiment readily detected the presence of depression and suspicion — a general apprehension that the restoration of the Union was an enter- prise developing new and unseen obstacles at each step, and a confusion of views as to the management of the war. But, in the violent exhibitions of party spirit, the North realized its chief cause of alarm. The peace party increased in num- bers and influence with the prolongation of the war, and the preservation of power by the Government party was clearly dependent upon such military results, as should foreshadow the speedy " collapse of the rebellion." In short, the North saw that the culmination of the momentous struggle was to be reached, while it was in the throes of an embittered Pres- idential contest. There was another explanation of the altered feeling in the two sections developed during the winter. Throughout the war, the Northern mind was singularly accessible to the in- fluence of sensation and "clap-trap;" hence were always to be expected periodical galvanic excitements, followed by revul- sion of feeling. The conservative instincts of the South sought repose ratiier than excitement; and the crippled condition of the enemy, after his achievements of the summer and fall, gave the South a sufficient respite for the recovery of much of its lost confidence. Nor was the transition of the South- ern mind, within a few weeks, from depression to something d by Google CONPEI>EEATB HOPE«. 535 like hopdul antitipition, ijiseJ upon i loeie pieiuntimciit ot prospeiout, fortune The leasons of the war, not les& thin the teaulungs of pieMoua hiftory, encouraged reauimation It was contended that the conquest of a teuitory so extensi\e, and the subjection of a people numeiicilly as stiong and as cou- rageous as those of the South, was physically impobsibSe It was urged that the Federal successes ot the preceding %ummei had only placed the enemy upon the thieshold of his enter- pnse, and that, in suimoimtmg the lesolate lesistince which had ilmost defeated his eMliest movements, he had vainly waited the spiiit and the strength whieh were now needed for his further progress. From such a condition of feeling, the logical conclusion was that the war had now become a question of endurance, and that the Confederacy must now depend upon its capacity to resist until the North should abandon the war in sheer dis- gust. The Richmond journals pithily stated the problem as one of "Southern fortitude and endurance against Yankee perseverance," In the meantime, the enforced quiet of the enemy was dili- gently improved hy the Government. Probably at no period of the war did the Confederate administration exhibit more energy and skill in the employment of its limited resources, than in its preparations for the campaign of 1864. The vig- orous measures of the President were, in the main, seconded by Congress, though this session was not wanting in those displays of demagogism which, throughout the wai', dimin- ished the influence and efficiency of that body. In the sequel, the expedients adopted did not realize the large results antici- pated. The iinancial legislation of Congress did not improve the value of the currency, nor did the various expedients re- d by Google 536 T.IFE OP JBPPERSON DAVIS. sorted to for strengthening the army obtain the desired num- bers. It was calculated that the Confederate armies would ag- gregate, by the opening of spring, something like four hundred thousand men, of wliich the repeal of the substitute law alone was expected to furnish seventy thousand. The real strength of all the Confederate armies, however, did not exceed two hundred thousand men when the campaign was entered upon. The execution of the conscription law was a subject of sore perplexity to the administration, and, though President Davis made strenuous exertions to remedy the difiicultyj the system continued defective until the end. The army was, nevertheless, strengthened both in numbere and material, while its spirit, as shown in the alacrity and unanimity of reenlistment, was never surpassed. Military suc- cess was now tlie end to which the Government devoted its whole energies, as the real and only solution of its difficulties. In time of war military success is the sole nepenthe for na- tional afflictions. Without victories the Confederacy would seek in vain a restoration of its finances through the expedients of legislation. Equally necessary were victories for relief of the difficulty as to food. Should the spring campaign be suc- cessful, the Confederacy would recover the country upon which it had been mainly dependent for supplies, and such additional territory as was required to put at rest the alarming difficulty of scarcity. The expectation of the South was much encouraged by a series of successes upon minor theatres of the war, during the suspension of operations by the main armies. A signal victory was won late in February, by General Finnegan, at Ocean Pond, Florida, the important event of which was the decisive failure of a Federal design to possess that State. d by Google siierjiak's expedition. 537 The most serious demonstration by the enemy, during the winter months, was the expedition of Sherman across the State of Mississippi. This movement, undertaken with all the vigor and daring of that commander, was designed to capture Mobile and to secure the Federal occupation of nearly the whole of Alabama and Mississippi. It was the second experiment, un- dertaken by Federal commanders, during the war, of leaving a regular base of operations, and seeking the conquest of a large section of territory, by penetrating boldly into the in- terior. The first similar attempt was made by Gmnt, from Memphis into the interior of Mississippi. It is notable that both these expeditions were marked by shameful failure. They signally illustrated the military principle of the impossibility of successful penetration of hostile territory, even when held by a greatly interior force, and, moreover, clearly indicate the fate tliat would inevitably have overtaken Sherman, in his " march to the sea," had there been an opposing army to meet him. When Van Dorn captured Grant's supplies at Holly Springs, in the autumn of 1862, the Federal commander had no alternative but to make a rapid retreat to his base. A similar experience awaited Sherman, who, leaving Vicksburg with thirty thousand men, marched without opposition through Mississippi— General Polk, with his corps of ten thousand men, falling back before him. Cooperating with Sherman was a large cavalry force, which, leaving North Mississippi, was to unite with him at Meridian, and upon this junction of forces depended'the success of the entire expedition. But General Forrest, a remarkably skillful and enei^etic cavalry leader, attacked the Federal col- umn, utterly routing and disperaing it, though not having more than one-third the force of the enemy. This neces- sitated the retreat of Sherman, with many circumstances in- d by Google 036 LIFE OF JKFFEESON I1AV18. dieating demoralization among his troops. His expedition terminated with no results sufficient to give it more dignity, than properly belonged to at least a dozen other plundermg and incendiary enterprises, imdertaken by Federal officers who are comparatively without reputation. The exploits of Sher- man in Mississippi gave him a "bad eminence," which he afterwards well sustained by the bumiag of Rome and At- lanta, the sack of Columbia, and his career of pillage and incendiarism in the Carolinas. A notable event of the winter was the raid of Dahlgren, an expedition marked by every dastardly and atrocious feature imaginable. When this expedition of " picked " Federal cav- alry had been put to ignominious flight by the departmental clerks at Eiehmond, its retreat was harassed by local and temporary organizations of fiirmers, school-boys, and furloaghed men from Lee's army. Not until its leader was killed, how- ever, was revealed the fiendish errand which he had under- taken. Upon his person was found ample documentarj' evi- dence of the objects of the expedition, viz. : to bum and sack the city of Eiokiiwnd, and to assassinate President Davis and his eaiinei.* Yet this man, killed in honorable combat, after *Upon the person of Dahlgren was found the address, from which ex- tracts relative to the purpose of the espedition are given. The portions which we omit are mainly eshortations to the courage of the men in a desperate enterprise: Ojfiesa I en- To lave been selectei from Ir^iJes and re^^ment a« a p k 1 comminl to attempt idesterate nip taking— an dertikic^nl k f u esaful will write yo i name? on the 1 eart of yo u ou ry n letters that an never l>e erased and hich will c u e the [ -nyBr nf you fell w sold e s now confine 1 a 1 1 ome i on t f !1 u where er ou maj go d by Google THE DAHLGEEN PAPERS. 539 Ilia eu1>throat mission hud failed, was apotheosized by the North as a "hero," who had been "assassinated" while on an eri'and of patriotiain and philanthropy. The shocking details of this diabolical scheme, substantiated by every neces- sary proof of authenticity, were published in the Richmond journals, and instead of provoking the condemnation of the "We hope to release the priaonera from Belie Island fli-st, and, having seen them fairly started, we will crosa the Jamea Eiver into Eichmond, destroying tiie bridges after us, and exhorting the released prisoners to destroy and burn the hateful city; and do not allow the rebel leader, Davis, and his traitorous orcw to escape," et'c. The conclusion of this rowarkable order is, "Ask the bleaaing of tlie Almighty, and do not fear the enemy." We hare not apace for the indisputable teatunony which has eatab- Ilahad the authenticity of the " Dahlgren Papers " — a snbject upon which there is no longer room for doubt. The writer, at the time of this raid, had full descriptions of them from persons who saw the originals. They were found upon Bahlgren's body by a sohool-boy thirteen years old, who could not write, and were immediately placed in the hands of his teacher. The soiled folds of the paper were plainly \isible The words referring fo the murder of Preaident Davis were a part of the regular test of the manuscript Additional proof of the authenticity of the papers waa fur- nished bj the note-book, also found upon the person of Dahlgren, con- taining a rough draft of the address to the troops, and various memoranda. The address was written in pencil in the note-book, and differs very shjitly from the copy containing howeier the mjanution that the Con- federate luthorities ^e hll d on iJe spot The '■tatement of Mr. Hal- I ath who IS stil! livinn' aujprated ly the teit mony of a number of porfl ns must be defme 1 conclusive of the j,enumeness of the documents put liihed m the Eichmon 1 journals Hon 'Stephen E MiUoiy late f onfpderat Secretary of the Na^-y, has r 0 ntly mide the tollo in^ statement of Mi Da^is course concerning tliiB matter "An expedition dirooted avowedly against the lives of the heads of the d by Google 540 LIFE OP JEFFERSOM" DAVIS. hypocritical "humanity" of the North, with characteristic ef- frontery were ridiculed as " rebel forgeries." The Trans-Mississippi region was, in the early spring, the scene of brilliant and important Confederate successes. About the middle of March, the famous "Red Eiver Expedition" of General Banks, contemplating the complete subjugation of Louisiana, and the occupation of Western Texas, was under- taken. The result was, perhaps, the most ignominious failure of the war. Defeated by Gteneral Taylor, in a decisive en- gagement at Mansfield, General Banks, with great difficulty, effected his retreat down Red Eiver, and abandoned the en- terprise, which he had undertaken with such extravagant an- ticipations of fame and wealth. In the month of April, Forrest executed a brilliant cam- paign among the Federal garrisons in Tennessee, capturing GovernmcDt, and aiming at firing an entire city, was deemed bo violative of the rules of war as to demand a retribution of death upon all coa- oerned in it, "The subject was one of universal diseussion in Richmond; excitement ioGreased with what it fed upon; Congress participated in it; and a pres- sure was Lrougl t to ? ear pon Mr Dav a to order the eseontion of son e of the apt ired He enterta ned no doubt that just e human ty ind pol y e | ally furl ade this oiel measure and refused to aan t on if and at tl e ame time refer ed the su>je t to General Lee tl en neir Peteisl urg f m med ate attention The Gene al s answer promptly came a> e t n wthoutla ng been aijrael of them the e vs already j sent 1 1 3 Mr Di\^ an! the h ef of wh h wa thit the men hav ng rre derelwtl arm n the r } andi an 1 been accepted an! treated as p s ttirt of wa CO ild not n ratal at on for the nesecuted des o-ns of fi e 1 leader he treated otherw se Th s h posod f the case and sat fied f! e people wl o vere ever ready to recoj,n ze he wi iom ind j 1 j 1 G n era! Lee 3 judp, uent d by Google CONFEDERATE SUCCESSES. 541 several thousand prisoners and adding large numbers of re- cruits to his forces. With a force mainly organized within three months, this dashing of&eer penetrated the interior of Tennessee, which the enemy had already declared "con- quered," capturing garrisons and Btores, and concluded his campaign by penetrating to the Mississippi River, and suc- cessfully storming Fort Pillow.* The most encouraging event of the spring was the capture of Plymouth, North Carolina, by General Hoke. This enterprise, executed with great gal- lantry and skill, had the tangible reward of a large number of prisoners, many camion, and an important position with reference to the question of supplies.f The a^regate of these Confederate successes was not incon- siderable. Espectation was strengthened by them at the South, and proportionately disappointed at the North. It was chiefly in their influence upon public feeling that these minor victories were valuable, as they in no way affected the main current of the war, .and were speedily overlooked at the first sound of the mighty shock of arms along the Rapi- dan and in Northern Georgia. Indeed, the actors in these *The "Fort Pillow ntasBacre" was a fruitful theme for new chapters of " rebel barbarities." Forrest was charged witli icdiscriminate slaughter of a captive garrison, when, in fact, he only continued to fight a garrison whioh had not surrendered. After the Confederates had forced liieir way into the fort, the flag was not taken down, nor did the gai-rison offer to surrender. The esplanation obviously w^ that the enemy relied upon their gunboats in the river to destr<^ Forreet'e forces after they had en- tered the forf, tin the last two years of tlie war, there were few more promising officers than General Hoke, Mr. Davis thought very highly of his capac- ity, and, upon one occasion, alluded to him as " that gallant North Caro- linian, who always did hia duty, and did it thoroughly." d by Google 542 LIFE" OP JSPFEESOK DAV19. preliminary events were, in most instances, themselves shifted to these two main theatres, upon which the concentrated power of each contestant was preparing its most desperate exertions. Troops on both sides were recalled from South Carolina, and even Florida, to participate in the great wrestle for the Confederate capital, and the impending struggle in Georgia absorbed nearly all the forces hitherto operating west of the Alleghanies and east of the Mississippi. However discouraged may have been the public mind of the North at the beginning of the year, the preparations of the Federal Government, for the spring campaign, indicated no abatement of energy or det«r ml nation, "Well aware of the di- minished resouroes of the South, and of the political i which imperatively demanded speedy and decisive n the Federal administration prepared a more vigorous use of its great means than had yet been attempted. The draft was energetically enforced, and volunteering was stimulated by high bounties. At no period of the war were the Federal armies so numerous, so well equipped and provided with every means that tends to make war successful. Their morale was better than at the outset of any previous campaign. The Federal armies were now inured to -war, composed mainly of seasDned veterans, and commanded by officers whose capacity had been amply tested in battle. The agents selected by the Federal Government, to carry out its designs, were men whose previous career justified their se- lection. The sagacity of the North had, at length, realized the one essential object, to the accomplishment of which all its efforts must contribute. This object was the destruction of Lee's army. Virginia was justly declared the "backbone" of Confederate power ; Lee's army was the pedestal of the edifice. d by Google GENERAL GRANT. 543 It was in the clearer appreciation of this object, and in the de- termination to subordinate every concern of tlie war to its ac- complishment, that Northern sentiment made a step forward, that was, of itself, no insignificant auxiliary to ultimate suc- cess. The blows which Sherman prepared to deliver upon the distant fields of Georgia, were aimed at Lee's army, not less than were those of Grant. While the latter "hammered away continuously" in Virginia, to pulverize, as it were, the eohimii fi-om which so many Federal endeavors had been forced to re- coil, Sherman was expected to pierce the very centre of the Confederaey, and seize or destroy every remaining source of sustenance. The presence in Virginia of the General commanding all the Federal forces, was sufficiently indicative of his recc^nition of the supreme object of the campaign. The successful career of this officer was the recommendation which secured for him the high position of Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the Union. He was the most fortunate officer produced by the war — fortunate not less in having won nearly every victory which could promote the successful conclusion of the war, but fortunate in having won victories where defeat was the result to be logically expected. It is not at all necessary to weigh, in detail, the merits of General Grant as a soldier. With the overwhelming argument of results in his favor, there would be little encouragement, even if there could be strict justice, in denying superior ability to Grant. His campaigns have contributed nothing to mili- tary science, in its correct sense, and the military student will find in his operations few incidents that illustrate the art or economy of war. In discarding the formulas of the schools, and condemning the theories upon which the best of his i d by Google 544 lAl^K OF JEFFERSOS DAVIS. sors had conducted the war, Grant, by no means, proved that he was not a good soldier. But his independence in this re- spect did not establish his claim to genius, since his contempt for military rules and theories was not followed by the display of any original features of true generalship. His name was coupled with a great disaster at Shiloh, where he was rescued fiom absolute destruction by the energy of Buell, and the de- lay of his adversary. At Donelson, at Vioksburg, and at Jlissionaiy Ridge, he had succeeded by mere weight of nnm- bers; and, indeed, in no instance had he exhibited any other quality of worth, than boldness and perseverance. But his success was a sufficient recommendation to the material mind of the North, which did not once pause to consider how far Grant's victories were due to his military merit. But whatever the defects of Grant in the higher qualities of generalship, he was preeminently the man for the present emer- gency. If the Federal Government saw the necessity of vigor- ous warfare, looking to speedy and final results. General Grant knew how to conduct the campaign upon that idea, provided the Government would give him unlimited means, and the Northern people would consent to the unstinted sacrifice. Gi'ant knew no other than an aggressive system of warlare, and contemplated no other method of destroying the Confeder- acy, than by the momentum of superior weight — by heavy, simultaneous and continuous blows, Tlie plans of Grant were remarkable for their simplicity, and contemplated merely the employment of the maximum of force against the two main armies of the Confederacy, keeping the entire force of the South in constant and unrelieved strain. By "continuous hammer- ing" he thus hoped eventually to destroy or exhaust it. General Grant was again fortunate in having the unlimited d by Google MIS THEORY OT WAH. 545 confidence of his Government, which placed at his disposal a million of soldiers, and was prepared to accede to his eveiy demand. To the most trusted of his lieutenants — Slicrman — Grant intrusted the conduct of operations against the centre of the Confederacy, reserving for himself the control of the campaign against Richmond, and Lee's army. His plan of operation was to destroy, not to defeat, an array which he knew could not be conquered, so long as its vitality remained. The military talent of the North had been already eshaasted against Lee, and its largest army too often baffled by the Army of Northern Virginia, to admit tlie hope of defeating it in battle. To outgeneral Lee, Grant well knew required a greater master of the art of war than himself. To conquer the Army of Northern Virginia, he, not less than his army, knew to be impossible. His calculation was to wear it out by the "attrition" of successive and remoraeless blows. This theory was based upon the plain calculation that the North could furnish a greater mass of humanity for the shambles, (as was afterward calculated it could spare a greater mass for the prisons,) than the South, and that thus when the latter should be exhausted, the former would still have left abundant material for an army. Such was Grant's theory of the war. "Whatever may be thought of it as a military con- ception, the theory was one that must succeed in the end, provided the perseverance of the North should hold out. General Grant determined upon a direct advance with the Army of the Potomac against Richmond, by the overland route from the Rapidan. The frame-work of his plan, how- ever, embraced cooperating movements in other quarters, which should, at the same time, occupy every man that might be available for the reenforcement of Lee. Grant was d by Google 646 LIFE Of JEFFERSON DAVIS. 1 by no lack of the men who were needed to malie each one of these movemunta formidable. The most impor- tant of these was that designed to occupy the southern com- munieationa of Bichmond, thus at once making the Confed- erate capital untenable, and cutting off the retreat of Lee. This operation was intrusted to General ButlePj who, with thirty thousand men, was to ascend James River, establish himself in a fortified position near City Point, and invest Richmond on its south side. The other auxiliary movements were designed against the westward communications of Rich- mond, and were to be undertaken by Generals Sigel and Crook — the former, with seven thousand men, moving up the Shenandoah Valley, and the latter, with ten thousand, moving against the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. The force im- mediately under General Grant was one hundred and forty thousand men of all arms. Thus the grand aggregate of the Federal armies now threatening Richmond reached the neigh- borhood of one hundred and ninety thousand men. lu addi- tion to these was a force at "Washington, equal in strengtli to the whole of Lee's army. The Federal Government was hardly less lavish in the dis- tribution of its enormous resources to Sherman than to Grant. Sherman had proven himself an officer of much enterprise. Infelloctually he was the superior of Grant, but not less than other Federal commanders he relied upon superior numbers to overcome the skill and valor of the Confederate armies. Physical momentum was needed to overwhelm Johnston, and was amply supplied. Sherman demanded one hundred thou- sand men to capture Atlanta, and, by the consolidation of the various armies which had hitherto operated independently in the West, his force attained within a few hundreds of that number. d by Google THE CAMPAIGS OPENS. 547 In painful contrast with this enormous outlay of forces, ■were the feeble means of the Confederacy. When the season favorable for military operations opened, General Lee con- fronted Grant upon the Hapidan, and General Johnston faced Sherman near Dalton, in Northern Georgia. Neither of these armies reached fifty thousand men. The undaunted aspect and mien of firm resistance, with which both awaited the perilous onset of the enemy, were, however, assuring of the steady de- t*^rmination which still defended the Confederacy, Critical as was the emergency, the Government and the country yet be- lieved the strength of these two armies equal to the great test of endurance, at least beyond the perils of the present cam- paign. To hold its own was the primary hope of the Confed- eracy. If autumn could be reached without decisive victories by the North, and the great Federal sacrifices of spring and summer should then have proven in vain, there was ample ground for hope of those dissensions among the enemy, which, throughout the struggle, constituted so large a share of Con- federate expectation. On the 3d of May, 1864, Gteneral Grant initiated the cam- paign in Virginia, by crossing the Rapidan with his advanced forces ; on the 6th, the correspondent movement of Sherman, a thousand miles away, was begun. By the morning of the 5th, one hundred thousand Federal soldiers were across the Rap- idan, and on the same day, the first round of the great wrestle occurred. Entertaining no doubt of his capacity to destroy Lee, Grant imagined that his adversary would seek to escape. Having, in advance, proclaimed his contempt for " maneuvres," he was solicitous only for an opportunity to strike the Con- federate army before it should elude his grasp. But Hooker had made the same calculation a year before, and was dis- d by Google - 548 LIFE OF JEFFEESON DAVIS. appointed, and a like disappointment was now in store for Grant. Lee liad no power either to prevent the Federal crossing of the Eapidan, nor to prevent the turning of his right. Instead of retreating, he immediately assumed the aggressive, and .dealt the assailaut one of the most effective blows ever aimed by that powerful arm. Three days sufficed to reveal to the Federal commander his miscalculations of his adversary's de- signs, andj baffled in all his operations, he already indicated distrust of his system of wai'fere, and was compelled to at- tempt by " maneuvre," what he had failed to effect by brute force. The eventa of the 5th and 6th of May clearly demon- strated that strategy could not yet be dispensed with in war- fare. Indeed, nothing but Lee's extreme weakness and the untoward wounding of Longstreet, in just such a crisis, and in exactly the same manner as marked the fell of Jackson, pr^ented the defeat of the Federal campaign in its incipiency. But for these circumstances tlie Federal Agamemnon would have been completely unhorsed on the 6th of May, and would have added another name to the list of decapitated command- ers whom Lee had successively brought to grief. But the luck of Grant did not forsake him, and he still had numbers suf- ficient to attempt the "hammering" process again. Grant's first attempt at "maneuvre" was a movement upon Spottsyl- vania Court-house, a point south-east of the late battle-fields, by which he sought to throw his army between Lee and Rich- mond. Again he was to be disappointed, and again did the Confederate commander prove himself the master of his antag- onist, in every thing that constitutes generaiship. The Confed- erate forces were already at Spottsylvania, when the Federal column reached the neighborhood, and Lee, so cautious in liis d by Google shbrtdan's eaid. 549 ■worlds, announced to his Government tliat tiie enemy had been "repiiised with heavy slaughter." But Leo had done far more than foil Grant. He had se- cured an impregnable position upon the Spottsylvania heights, against which Grant remorselessly, hut vainly, dashed his huge columns for twelve days. At the end of that period Lee's lines were still intact, his mien of resistance still preserved, and the " hammering " generalship of Grant had cost the North nearly fifty thousand veteran soldiers. Men already began to ask the question, to which history will find a ready answer : " What would be the resuU ^ the resources of the two commanders ■were reversed?" Not even the North could fail to see how entirely barren of advantage was all this horrible slaughter. The " shambles of the Wilderness " became the popular phrase descriptive of Grant's operations, and the Northern public was rapidly reaching the conclusion that the " hammer would itself break on the anvil." "While the dead-lock at Spottsylvania continued, and Lee held Grant at bay, Richmond was seriously threatened by co- operating movements of the enemy. General Grant had or- ganized a powerful cavalry force under Sheridan, for operations against the Confederate communications. Sheridan struck otit boldly in the direction of Richmond, followed closely by the Confederate cavalry. For several days he hovered in the neighborhood of the city, unable to penetrate the line of fortifications, and eventually retired in the direction of James Eiver. A melancholy incident of this raid of Sheridan was the death, in an engagement near Richmond, of General J. E. B. Stuart, the renowned cavalry leader of the Army of Northern Virginia. This was a severe bereavement to the South, and a serious d by Google 550 I-IFE OF JBFFEESOJT DAVIS. loss to the army. Stuart's exploits fill a brilliant chapter of the war in Virginia, and he was probably the ablest cavalry chieftain in the Confederate army. President Davis, who was constantly on the field during the presence of Sheridan near Richmond, deeply deplored the loss of Stuart. The President, not less than General Lee, reposed great confidence iii Stuart's capacity for cavalry command, and the noble character and gallant bearing of Stuai't enlisted the warm personal regard of Mr. Davis — a feeling which was heartily reciprocated. Upou the day of his death, Mr. Davis visited the bedside of the dy- ing ehief, and remained with him some time. In reply to the question of Mr. Davis, "General, how do you feel?" Stuart replied : " Easy, but willing to die, if God and my country think I have fulfilled my destiny and done my duty." The important correspondent movement of Butler upon the south side of James River, bi^an early in May. Ascending the river with numerous transports, Butler landed at Bermuda Hundreds, and advanced against the southern communications of Richmond. The force near the city was altogether inade- quate to cheek the army of Butler, and almost without opposi- tion he laid hold of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, and advanced within a few miles of Drewry's Bluff, the fortifica- tions of which commanded the passage of the river to the Con- federate capital. Troops were rapidly thrown forward from the South, and by the 14th May, General Beauregard had reached the neighborliood of Richmond, from Charleston. Probably at no previous moment of the war was Richmond so seriously threatened, as pending the arrival of Beauregard's forces. Mr. Davis was, however, resolved to hold the city to the last extremity. Though much indisposed at the time, he was every morning to be seen, accompanied by bis staff, riding d by Google bkauregard's rLAN. 651 ill the direction of tlic military lines. Superintending, to a large extent, the disposition of the small force defending the city, he was fully aware of the extreme peril of the situation, but nevertheless determined to share the dangers of the hour. When Beauregard reached the scene the crisis had by no means passed. Unless Bntler should be dislodged, not only was Rich- mond untenable, but it was impossible to maintain Lee's army north of James River. Yet the force available seemed very inadequate to any thing like a decisive defeat of the enemy. The aggregate of commands from the Carolinas, added to the force previously at Richmond, did not exceed fifteen tliou^and men, while Butler, with thirty thousand, held a strongly in- trenched position. Immediately upon his arrival, General Beauregard suggested a plan of operations, by which he hoped to destroy Butler, and, ■without pausing, to inflict a decisive defeat upon Grant. The plan he proposed was that Lee should fell back to the defensive lines of the Chickahominy, even fo the intermediate lines of Richmond, temporarily sending fifteen thousand men to the south side of the James, and with this accession of force he pro- posed to take the offensive against Butler. Pointing out the isolated situation of Butler, he urged the opportunity for his destruction by the concentration of a superior force. Under the circumstances General Beauregard thought the capture of Butler's force inevitable, and the occupation of his depot of supplies at Bermuda Hundreds a necessary consequence. When these results should be accomplished, he proposed, at a con- certed moment, to throw his whole force upon Grant's flank, while Lee attacked in front. General Beauregard was confi- dent of his ability to make the attack upon Butler, in two days after receiving the desired reenforcements, and was equally con- d by Google 552 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. fident of tho result both against Butler and Grant. His prop- osition concluded with the declaration that Grant's fate could not be doubtful if the proposed concentration should be made, and indicated tiie following gratifying results : " Tho destruc- tion of Grant's forces would open the way for the recovery of most of our lost territory." Whatever his views as to its feasibility, the President could not refuse a careful consideration of a plan, whose author, in advance, claimed such momentous results. Upon reflection President Davis declined the plan as involving too great a risk, not only of the safety of Richmond, but of the very exist- ence of Lee's army. The proposition of Beauregard was sub- mitted on the 14th May. At that time the grapple between Grant and Lee was still unrelaxed. Twelve days of battle had cost Lee fifteen thousand men. Meanwhile he had not received a singU additional musket, while Grant had nearly supplied his losses by reguforcements from Washington. Thus, while Lee's force did not reach forty thousand. Grant's still approximated one hundred and thirty thousand. The President also knew that Grant was at that moment closely pressing Lee, moving toward his left, and seeking either to overlap or break in upon the right flank of Lee. The proposed detachment of fifteen thousand men from Lee, leaving him not more than twenty-five thousand, in such a crisis, would have been simply madness. Butler, it is possible, might have been destroyed, but the end of the Confederacy would have been hastened twelve months. It is questionable whether, at any moment after Grant crossed the Rapidan, the overmatched army of Lee could have been diminished without fiital disaster. The timely arrival of Longstreet had prevented a serious reverse on the 6th May. Is it reasonable to suppose d by Google MR. DA vis' views. 553 that Lee could have detacLcd one-third of his army, without Grant's Imowledge, or that the energy of the Federal com- mander would have permitted an hour's respite to his sorely- pressed adversary after the discovery? The case would l]:ive been altogether different, had Lee been already safe within his works at Richmond. Under the circumstances proposed, he had before him a perilous retrograde, followed by a force four times his own strength, and commanded by the most unrelent- ing and persistent of officers. But there was another view of the proposition not to be overlooked by the President in his perilous responsibility. It is true Beauregard promised grand results — nothing less than the total destruction of nearly all the Federal forces in Vir- ginia. In brief, his plan proposed to destroy two hundred thousand men with less than sixty thousand. Again it was true the enemy was to be destroyed in detail— Butler first, and Grant afterwards. There were precedents in history for such achievements. But it should be remembered that if But- ler should be immediately destroyed, and if Lee should be guaranteed a safe retrograde, Beauregard would still be able to aid Lee to the extent of but little more than twenty thou- sand men. This would give Lee less than fifty thousand with which to take the oflensive against more than twice that num- ber. Against just such odds Lee had already tried the offen- sive, and failed because of his weakness. He had assailed Grant under the most favorable circumstances, effecting a complete surprise when the Federal commander believed him already retreating, but was unable to follow up his advantage. Was there reason to believe that any better result would follow from a repetition of the offensive? Believing himself not justified in hazarding the safety of d by Google 554 LIFE OF JEFFERSOK DAVIS. the Confederacy upon such a train of doubtful conditions, and agreeing with General Beauregard, that Butler could be dis- lodged from his advanced positions, so menacing to Richmond, Mr. Davis rejected a plan which, under different circumstances, he would have heartily and confidently adopted. AVith remarkable promptitude, Beauregard conceived a bril- liant plan of battle, and within twenty-four hours had already put it in virtual execution. With fifteen thousand men, he drove Butler from all his advanced works, and confined him securely in the cul de sac of Bermuda Hundreds, where, in a few months, ended the inglorious military career of a man who, in every possible manner, dishonored the sword which he wore, and disgraced the Government which he served. The brilliant conception of Beauregard merited even better results, which were prevented not less by untoward circumstances than by the weakness of Kis command. While Beauregard thus effectually neutralized Butler, Grant's combinations, elsewhere, were brought to signal discomfiture. The expedition from the Kanawha Valley had been, in a meas- ure, successful in its designs against the communications of South-western Virginia, but did not obtain the cooperation de- signed, by the column moving up the Shenandoah Valley. Si- gel, in his advance up the Valley, was encountered at New- market by General Breckinridge, who signally defeated him, capturing artillery and stores, and inflicting a heavy loss upon the enemy. Sigel retreated hastily down the Valley. General Grant, on the 11th of May, proclaimed to his Gov- ernment his purpose " to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer," yet, within a week afterwards, he was already meditating another plan of operations. Forty tiiousand of the bravest soldiers of the Federal army had been vainly sacrificed, d by Google grant's failukes. 555 and yet the Confederate line remained intact upon the impreg- nable hills of Spottsylvania. A week was consumed in fruitless search for a weak point in the breastplate of Lee, Grant was again driven to " maneuvre." Poiled again and again by the great exemplar of strategy, with whom he contended, Grant at no point turned his face towards Richmond without finding Lee across his path. Moving constantly to the left, the 3d of June — exactly one month from the crossing of the Eapidan — foun i k tu tl e 1 iUey d by Google 556 LIFE OF jJi;] his front, but hia men recoiled, in the consciousnesa of an impotent endeavor. They had done all that troops could ac- complish, and shrank from that which their own experience told them was impossible. And there should be no wonder that the Federal army was reluctant to he vainly led to slaugh- ter again. For forty days its proven mettle had been subjected to a cruel test, such as even Napoleon, reckless of his men's lives as he was, had never imposed upon an army. It is safe to say that no troops but Americans could have been held so long to such an enterprise as that attempted by Grant in May, 1864, and none but Americans could have withstood such desperate assaults as were sustained by Lee's army. In one monih, from the Eapidan to the Chiekahominy, more than sixty thousand of the flower of the Federal army had been put hors du combat, and many of the best of its of&eers, men identified with ita whole history, were lost for- ever. In one month Lee had inflicted a loss greater than the whole of the force which he commanded during the last year of the war ! Yet this was the " generalship " of Grant, for which a meeting of twenty-five thousand men in New York returned the " thanks of the nation." The world was invited, by the sensational press of the North, to admire the " strategy " which had carried the Federal army from the Rapidan to the James, a position which it might have reached by transports witliout the loss of a man. For a brief season, hope, positive and well-defined, dawned upon the South, Thus hr the problem of endurance was in favor of the Confederacy, Grant's stupendous combinations against Richmond had broken down. The spirit of the North seemed to be yielding, and again the Federal Government en- countered the danger of a collapse of the war. d by Google HRANT CROSSES THE JAMES. 557 The battle of Cold Harbor convinced General Grant of the fiitility of operations against Richmond from the north side of James KJver. He therefore determined to transfer his army to the south, side of the river, and seek to possess himself of the communications southward, and to employ cooperative forces to destroy or occupy the communications of Kichniond with Lynchburg and the Shenandoah Valley. This involved new combinations, and Grant still had abundant means to execute them. If successful, this plan would completely isolate Richmond, leaving no avenue of supplies except by the James River Canal, which also would be easily access- ■ ible. Xiee could not prevent the transfer of Grant's army to the south side. Petersburg and Richmond were both to be de- fended, and his strength was too limited to be divided. Grant made a vigorous dash against Petersburg. He had anticipated an easy capture of that city by a coup de main, but in this he was disappointed. Petersburg was found to be well fortified, and the desperate assaults made by the Federal advanced forces were repulsed. In a few days Lee's army again confronted Grant, and Richmond and Petersburg were safe. Thus the system of rushing men upon fortifications failed on the south side not less signally than in the overland cam- paign. The Federal commander had no alternative but a formal siege of Petersburg. Driven by circumstances beyond his control. General Grant thus assumed a position which, in the end, proved iatal to the Confederacy, and the results of which have exalted him, in the view of millions, to rank among the illustrious generals of history. The south side of James River was always the real key to the possession of Richmond. Sooner or later the Confederate capital must fail, d by Google 558 LIFE Of JEFFERSON DAVIS. if assailed from that direction with pertinacity, and with such ample means as were given to Grant. The new Federal combination was in process of execution by the middle of June. After the defeat of Sigel, a large force was organized in the lower valley, and intrusted to the direction of General Hunter, an officer distinguished by fanat- ical zeal against the section of which he was a native, and by the peculiar cruelty of a renegade. Breckinridge had been withdrawn from the Valley, to Ijee's lines, immediately after his defeat of Sigel, and Hunter without difficulty overwhelmed the small force left under General Jones. Torming. a junction with Crook and Averill from North-western Virginia, at Staunton, Hunter advanced upon Lynchburg, meanwhile destroying public and private property indiscriminately, and practicing a system of incendiarism and petty oppression against which even Federal officers protested. It was necessary to detach a portion of the army from the lines of Richmond to elieck the demonstration of Hunter. Accordingly, General Early, who had acquired great reputa- tion in the battles upon the Itapidan, was sent with eight thousand men to the Valley. Uniting his forces to those already on the groimd, General Early made a vigorous pursuit of Hunter, whose flight was as dastardly as his conduct had been despicable. Retreating with great precipitation through the mountains of Western Virginia, Hunter's force, for several weeks, bore no relation to operations in Virginia. With the Shenandoah Valley thus denuded of invaders. Early rapidly executed a movement of his forces down the Valley, with a view to a demonstration beyond the Potomac frontier, which was entirely uncovered by Hunter's retreat. The movement of Early into Maryland caused, as was anticipated, a detach- d by Google geakt's campaign a failurk. 559 meiit from Grant's forces, for the defense of the Federal capital. Advancing with extraordinary vigor, General Early pursued the retreating enemy, defeating them in an engage- ment near Frederick City, and arrived neai- "Washington on the 10th of July. Warned of the approach of heavy reenforce- ments from Grant, which muist arrive before the works could be carried, Early abandoned his design of an attaeti upon Washington, and retired across the Potomac, mth his exten- sive and valuable captures. Signal feilure attended the cavalry expeditions sent by Grant against the railroads, Sheridan, while moving northward against Gordonsville and Charlottesville, from which points, after inflicting all possible damage upon the railroads to Rich- mond, he was to join Hunter at Lynchburg, was intercepted by Wade Hampton, the worthy successor of Stuart, and com- pelled to abandon his part of the campaign. An extended raid, under Wilson and Kautz, on the south side, also ter- minated in disaster. The expedition of Burbridge against South-western Virginia was baffled by a counter-movement of Morgan with his cavalry, into Kentucky, the Eedei-al forces following him into that State. Thus again were all of General Grant's plans disappointed, and by midsummer the situation in Virginia was altogether favorable to tlie Confederacy. There was indeed good reason for the evident apprehension of the North, that, aiier all, Grant's mighty campaign was a failure. His mere proximity to the Confederate capital signified nothing. All his attempts against both Petersburg and Richmond, whether by strategy or coups de main, had ended in disaster; the Confederate lines were pronounced impr^nable by the ablest Federal engineers, and after the ridiculous fiasco of " Burnsidc's mine," the cap- d by Google 560 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. ture of Kichmond seemed as remote as ever. To increase public alarm at the North, was added the activity of Lee, his evident confidence in his ability to hold his own, with a di- minished force, and even to threaten the enemy with invasion. The Confederate Government, fully apprised of the mo- mentous results, with which the present year was pregnant, and of the increased peril which assailed the Confederacy, in consequence of its diminished resources, depended upon other influences, than an exhibition of military strength, to promote its designs. The cause of the South could no longer be sub- mitted, unaided, to the arbitrament of battle. At other peri- ods, while freely avowing his desire for peace, and offering to the Federal authorities, opportunity for negotiation. Presi- dent Davis had relied almost solely upon the sword, as the agency of Southern independence. The opening of the spring campaign of 1864 was lieemed a favorable conjuncture for the employment of the resources of diplomacy. To approach the Federal Government directly would be in vain. ^Repeated ef- forts had already demonstrated its inflexible' purpose not to negotiate with the Confederate anthorities. Political develop- ments at the North, however, favored the adoption of some action that might influence popular sentiment in the hostile section. The aspect of the peace party was especially encour- aging, and it was evident that the real issue to be decided in the Presidential election, was the continuance or cessation of the war. A commission of three gentlemen, eminent in position and intelligence, was accordingly appointed by Mr, Davis to visit- Canada, with a view to negotiation with such persons in the North, as might be relied upon, to facilitate the attainment of peace. This commission was designed to facilitate such d by Google ATTEMPS AT NEGOTIATION. 561 preliminary conditions, as might lead to formal negotiation between tiie two governments, and their intelligence was fully relied upon to make judicious ase of any political opportuni- ties that might be presented in the progress of military opera- tions The Confederate commissioners, Messrs. Clay, of Alabama, Holcombe, of Virginia, and Thompson, of Mississippi, sailed from Wilmington at the incipiency of the campaign on tlie Eapidan. Within a few weeks thereafter they were upon the Canada frontier, in the execution of their mission. A cor- respondence with Horace Greeley commenced on. the 12th of July. Through Mr. Greeley the commissioners sought a safe conduct to the Federal capital. For a few days Mr. Lincoln appeared to favor an interview with the commissioners, but finally rejected their application, on the ground that they were not authorized to treat for peace. In his final communi- cation, addressed "To whom it may concern," Mr. Lincoln offered safe conduct to any person or persons having authority to control the armies then at war with the United States, and authorized to treat upon the following basis of negotiation: " the restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the abcmdommeni of slavery." Upon this basis, negotiation was, of course, precluded, and peace impossible. Mr. Lincoln was perfectly aware that the commissioners had no control of the Confederate armies, and that the Confederate Government alone was empowered to negotiate. He therefore did not expect the acceptance of his passport, and added to the mockery an arrogant statement, in advance, of tlie conditions upon which he would consent to treat. Even if the commissioners had been empowered to treat, Mr. Lincoln's terms dictated the surrender of every 36 d by Google 562 TjTFE of JEFFERSON DAVIS. thing for which the South was fighting, and more than ihu North professed to demand at the outset. Abolition was now added to the conditions of re-admission to the Union. Mr. Lincoln's proposition was a cruel mockery, an unworthy insult to the manhood of a people, whom his armies, at least, had learned to respect. d by Google GENEKAL JOHSSTON. CHAPTER XIX. DISAPPOINTMENT AT RESULTS OF ' CENBBIL JOBNSrO-» THG EXPUtTVT OS I TBP^ — A QUESTION FOB tllLlTAm JDDG1IB\T THE NE(,ATI\ B r OCNBRAL JOHNSTON DIPPERBNT TBBlEIfcl OF WAE THE I Pm. OP THE SfDTHEBK PAILrRE — THE ODDS IN NUMBERS AU: — IN'IGNlFICAr.CB OF ^^ ENERAL JOHNSTON had failed to realize either the ^^ expectations of the public, or the hope of the Govern- ment, in his direction of the campaign in Georgia. Hi& tac- tics ■were those uniformly illustrated by this officer in all hife operations, of fiiUIng back before the enemy, and seeking to obviate the disadvantage of inferior numbers by partial en- gagementa in poaitions favorable to himself. There wa«, in- deed, some parallel between his campaign and that of I^e, between the RapiJan and James, but the results in Virginia and Georgia were altogether disproportionate. The advance of Sherman was slow and cautious, but nevertheless steady; d by Google 564 L!FV. OP JEPFEIi(50K DAVIS. and when tlie campaign had lasted seventy days, he was be- fore Atlanta, the objective point of his designs, and in secure occupation of an extensive and important section of country, heretofore inaccessible to the Federal armies. Not only were Sherman's losses small, as compared with those of Grant, but his force was relatively much weaker. . There can be no just comparison of these two campaigns, either as illustrating the same system of tactics, or as yielding the same results. The aggregate of Federal forces in Georgia did not exceed, at the beginning of the campaign, one hun- dred thousand- men, if indeed it reached that figure. To oppose this, Johnston had forty-five thousand. We have al- ready stated the aggregate of Federal forces in Virginia to have been at least four times the force that, under any cir- cumstances, Lee could have made available. The public did not interpret as retreats, the parallel movements by which Lee successively threw himself in the front of Grant, wherever the . latter made a demonstration. Not once had Lee turned his back upon the enemy, nor abandoned a position, save when the bafiled foe, after enormous losses, sought a new field of operations. At its conclusion. Grant had sustained losses in excess of the whole of Lee's army, abandoned altogether his original design, and sought a base of operations, which he might have reached in the beginning, not only without loss, but without even opposition. Some explanation of the widely disproportionate results achieved in Virginia and Georgia, is to be found in the dif- ferent tactics of the Federal commanders. Sherman, whose nature is thoroughly aggressive, yet developed great skill and caution. Instead of fruitlessly dashing his army against for- tifications, upon ground of the enemy's choosing, he treated d by Google JOHKSTOK CENSURED. 565 the positions of Jolinston as fortresses, from which his- antag- onist was to be flanked. But while this explanation waa appreciated, the public was much disposed to accept the two campaigns as illustrations of the different systems of tactics accredited to the two Couied- erate commanders. It was seen that in Virginia the enemy occupied no new territory, and, at ttie end of three months, was upon ground which he might easily have occupied at the beginning of the campaign, but to reach which, by the means selected, had cost him nearly eighty thousand men.* In Georgia, on the other hand, Sherman had advanced one hundred miles upon soil heretofore firmly held by the Con- federacy, and without a general engagertient of the oppos- ing forces. In Virginia, the enemy had no difficulty as to his transportation, and the ferther Grant advanced towards James River, the more secure and abundant became his means of supply. In Georgia, Sherman drew his supplies over miles of hostile territory, and was nowhere aided by the proximity of navigable streams. When in a censorious mood, the popular mind is not over^ careful of the aptness of the parallels and analogies, wherewith to justify its carping judgments. Without denying his skill, or questioning his possession of the higher qualities of gener- alship, people complained that " Johnston was a retreating general." Whatever judgment may have arisen from subse- quent events, it can not be fairly denied that when Johnston * This estimate includes Grant's losses ii cations of Petersliui^, immediately after lii; I haye seen his total losses from the Rapid; burg was regularly begun, estimated by Northern writers, at over ninety thousand. his assaults upon the fortifi- passage of the James Eivev, idan, until the siege of Peters- d by Google 566 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. reached Atlanta, there was a very perceptible loss of popular confidence, not less in the issue of the campaign than in Gen- eral Johnston himself. It was in deference to popular senti- ment, as much as in accordance with his views of the necessity of the military situation, that President Davis, about the middle of July, relieved General Johnston from command. Sympathizing largely with the popular aspiration for a more bold, ample, and comprehensive policy, and appreciating the value of unlimited public confidence, Mr. Davis had lost much of his hope of those decisive results, which he believed the Westero army competent to achieve. The dispatch relieving General Johnston was as follows : , "EioHMOND, Vj., July 17, 1864. "To General J. M Johneton : " Lieutenant- General J. B. Hood has been commissioned to the temporary rank of General, under the law of Congress. I am directed hy the Secretary of War to inform you, that as you have failed to arrest the advaniio of the enemy to the vicinity of At- lanta, and eajpress no conjideiiee that you can defeat or repel Min, you are hereby relieved from the command of the Army and De- partment of Tennessee, whicli you will immediately turn over to General Hood. "S. COOPER, "Ai^ulani and Inspector-General" This order sufficiently explains the immediate motive of Johnston's removal, but there was a train of circumstances which, at length, brought the President reluctantly to this conclusion. The progress of events in Georgia, from the be- ginning of spring, had developed a marked difference in the views of General Johnston and the President. Early in the year Mr. Davis had warmly approved an offensive campaign d by Google THE GEOBOIA CAMPAIGK. 567 ; the Federal army, while its various wings were not yet united. The Federal force, then in the neighhorhood of Dalton, did not greatly exceed the Confederate strength, and Mr. Davis, foreseeing the concentration of forces for the cap- ture of Atlanta, believed the op|>ortunity for a decisive stroke to exist before this concentration should ensue. General Hood likewise favored this view of the situation. He urged that tlie enemy would certainly concentrate forces to such an ex- tent, if permitted, as would gradually force the Southern army back into the interior, where a defeat would be irreparable, with no new defensive line, and without the hope of rallying either the army or the people. General Johnston opposed these views, on the ground that the enemy, if defeated, had strong positions where they could take refuge, while a defeat of the Confederate force would be fetal. This difference of opinion is to be appropriately decided only by military criti- cism, but it can not be fairly adjudged that an offensive in the spring would not have succeeded, because it fiiiled in the following autumn. Circumstances were altogether different. General Johnston's operations between Dalton and Atlanta were unsatisfactory to Mr. Davis. Here again arises a mili- tary question, which we shall not seek to decide, in the evi- dent difference as to the capacity of the Army of Tennessee, for any other than purely defensive operations. It was, in- deed, not so much an opposition on the part of the President, to Johnston's operations, as the apprehension of a want of ultimate aim in his movements. Whatever the plans of Gen- eral Johnston may have been, they were not communicated to Mr. Davis, at least in such a shape as to indicate the hope of early and decisive execution. Alarmed for the results of a policy having seemingly the characteristics of drifting, of wait- d by Google 56» LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. ing upon events, and of hoping for, instead of creating oppor- tunity, Mr. Davis yet felt tbe necessity of giving General Johnston an ample trial. During all this period strong influ- ences were brought to bear against Johnston, and upon the other hand, he waa warmly sustained by influences friendly both to himself and the President. For weeka the President was importuned by these conflict- ing counsels, the natural effect of which was to aggravate his gi'ave doubts as to the existence of any matured idtimate ob- ject in General Johnston's movements. Upon one occasion, while still anxiously deliberating the subject, an eminent poli- tician, a thorough patriot, a supporter of Mr. Davis, and having to an unlimited extent his confidence, called at the office of the President, with a view to explain the situation in Georgia, whence he had just arrived. This gentleman had been with tJie army, knew its condition, ite enthusiasm and confidence. He waa confident that General Johnston would destroy Sherman, and did not believe that the Federal army would ever be permitted to reach even the neighborhood of Atlanta. Mr. Davis, having quietly heard this explanation, replied by handing to his visitor a dispatch just received from Johnston, and dated at Atlanta. The army had already reached Atlanta, before the gentleman could reach Bichmond, and he acknowledged himself equally amazed and disap- pointed. Despite his doubts and apprehensions, however, Mr. Davis resisted the applications of members of Congress and leading politicians from the section in which General Johnston was operating, for a change of commanders, until be felt himself no longer justified in hazarding the loss of Atlanta without a straggle. There appeared little ground for the belief tliat d by Google JOHNSTON RELIEVED, 569 Johnston would hold Atlanta, nor did there appear any reason why his arrival there should occasion a departure from his previous retrograde poliey. Of the purpose of General John- ston to evacuate Atlanta the President felt that he had abun- dant evidence;. Not until he felt folly satisfied upon this point, was the removal of that officer determined upon. In- deed, the order removing Johnston sets forth as its justifica- tion, that he had expressed no confidence in his ability to "repel the enemy," If Atlanta should be surrendered, where would General Johnston expect to give battle?* Subsequently to his removal. General Johnston avowed that his puipose wai to hold Atlanta, and, theiefoie we aie not at liberty to question his puipose But this does not alt«r the "^President Divis regarded the security of Atlanta aa an object of the utmct wnsequence for whioli if necessary even great hazards must be in H s fieLuetit dcolaratiun was that the Confeierac^y Aai no vital yo ts This theory was correct aa tl eie wxi certainly no one point, the loas ot whiuh neceasanly involved the luss of the ea ise "i et it was tA\ 0.% in thi> Ve^inning that certain sections e ther fcr strategic reasons, or Q"? sources cf supjly wtre of vast unportinee for the priaecution of the war to a speedy and suoi,e««ful conclus on The value of Richmond and Virginia was obvious Equally important was a aecnre foothold in the M i-Jissippi V<»lley and the po'ise'ision of the great mountainous range from Chattanooga to LynohVUrg tie lackloie re^on of the '^outh Mr I>aTi? regarded enth cne if these thico obji,ctf as juft fviiig almost any hazard or sacnflce Unler no eiri.um'jtancpa could he ayprove a military pel cy whi h oontempUtel the luirenler ot either f these ob- jects without a iespeiate strucg|le He had wanted Vn,kabui^ defended to the list extrem ty and now desired equal t<*nac ty as to Atlanta. This city was a great manufacturing centre; the centre of the system of rail- roads diverging in all directions fhrongh the Gulf States, and it was the last remaining outpost in the defense of the central section of the Coa- federacy. rdb, Google 570 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. legitimate inference drawn by Mr. Davis at the time of his removal. Can it be believed that the President would have taken that step, if satisfied of Johnston's purpose to deliver battle for Atlanta? This entire subject belongs appropriately only to military discussion, and no decision from other sources can possibly affect the ultimate sentence of that tribunal. Yet the most se- rious disparagement of Mr. Davis, by civilian writers, has been based upon the removal of Johnston from the command of the Western army. Granting that General Johnston would have sought to hold Atlanta, can it be believed that the ultimate result would have been different? When Sherman invested Atlanta, tlie North found some compensation for Grant's fail- ures in Virginia; and even though his force should have been inadequate for a siege, can it now be doubted that he would have been rcenforced to any needed extent? The mere pres- ence of Sherman at Atlanta was justly viewed by the North as an important success. He had followed his antagonist to the very heart of the Confederacy, and was master of innumerable strong positions held by the Confederates at the outset of the campaign. To suppose that he would, at such a moment, "be permitted to &il from a lack of means, is a hypothesis at va- riance with the conduct of the North throughout the war. GeneraJ Johnston has that sort of negative vindication which arises from the disasters of his successor, though, as we shall presently show, Mr. Davis was nowise responsible for the mis- fortunes of General Hood.* The question is one which must * Yet the argument that General Hood's errors establish tho wisdom of General Johnston's policy, can haMlybe deemed fair by an intelligent and impartial judgment. A more competent commander than Hood might have more ably eseouted an offensive campaign, even after the fall of d by Google ANTAOOSISTrC THEORIES. 571 some day ariae as between the general military policy of tlie Confederacy, and the antagonistic views which have been so freely ascribed to General Johnston by hia admirers. We have no desire to pursue tliat antagonism, which, if it really existed, can hardly yet be a theme for impartial discussion. Towards the close of the war, it was usual to accredit Johnston with the theory that the Confederacy could better afford to lose territory than mm, and that hence the true policy of the South was to avoid general engagements, unless under such circumstances as should totally neutralize the enemy's advantage in numbers. We are not prepared to say to what extent these announcements of hia views were authorized by General Johnston, or to what extent they were based upon retrospection. Some confirmation of their authenticity would seem to be deducible from General Johnston's declaration since the war, that the "Confederacy was too weak for offensive war." Certainly there could be no theory more utterly antagonistic to the genius of the Southern people, and that is a consideration, to which the great com- manders of history have not usually been indifferent. Nor was it the theory which inspired those achievements of Southern valor, which will ring through the centuries. It was not the Atlanta; or, again, other tactics than those of Johnafon, from Dalton to Atlanta, might have had better results. After Johnston's removal, the President reoeired numerous letters from prominent indiyiduals in the Cotton States, heartily applauding that step. The condemnation of the President, for the remoyaJ of Jolmaton, came only after Hood's disasters; and it must be remembered that Hood's later operation? were not in accordance with Mr. Davis' views. The writer remembers a pithv summary of the Georgia campajgn, made by a Confederate oflieei, shoitly before the end of the war. Said he; "While Johnston was in command there were m results at all; when Hood took command , tt,i/lts cam. i ry rapidly," d by Google 572 LIFE OF JFFFEllHON DAVIS. theory which Lee and Jackson adopted, nor, we need hardly add, that which Jefferson Davis approved. Indeed, the philosophy of the Southern failure is not to be sought in the discussion of opposing theories among Confeder- ate leaders. The conclusion of history will be, not that the South accomplished less than was to be anticipated, but far more than have any other people under similar circumstances. Southern men hardly yet comprehend tlie real odds in numbers and resources which for four yesirs they suecesafnlly resisted. Other questions than those merely of aggregate populations and material wealth, enter into the solution of the problem. By the census of 1860, the aggreg-ate free population of the thirteen States, which the Confederacy claimed, was 7,500,000, leaving in the remaining States of the Union a free population of over twenty millions. This statement includes Kentucky and Missouri as members of the Confederacy; yet, by the com- pulsion of Federal bayonets, these States, not less than Mary- land and Delaware, were virtually on the side of the North. Kentucky proclaimed neutrality, but during the whole war was overrun by the Federal armies, and, with her State govern- ment and large numbers of her people fevoring the North, despite the Southern sympathies of the majority, her moral in- fluence, as well as her physical strength, sustained the Union. The legitimate government of Missouri, and a majority of her people, sided with the South ; but early occupied and held by the Federal army, her legitimate governmeut was subverted, and her moral and physical resources were thrown into the scale against the Confederacy. To say nothing of the large numbers of recruits obtained by the Federal armies from Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri, (chiefly from their large foreign populations,) their contributions d by Google THE NUMERICAL UBPARITY. 573 to the Confederate army were nearly, if not quite, eompcnaa- ted by the accessions to Federal strength from East Tenuessce, Western Virginia, and other portions of the seceded States. It would be fair, therefore, to deduct the population of these two States from that of the South, and this would leave the Con- federacy five and one-half millions. Dividing their free popu- lations between the two sections, and the odds were six and a half millions against twenty and a half millions. This is a lib- eral statement for the North, and embraces only the original populations of the two sections at the beginning of hostilities. Theie can haidly be a leosonable doubt, thit had the "^tiuggle been confined to the«e nunTeiicil force'i, the South \\ould ha\e tiiumphed But hoides ot foieign meiwnaucs, incited bj high bountj and the promise of bootj, flocked to the Federal irnij, and thu^ was the North enabled to rtciuit its irmies to my needed standaid,^hile the South depended solelj uponitsoiig- iml population Vs the South wt* o\Liiun, too, negioes were forced or enticed into the Fedei d slimcc, and thus, 1>) these inexhaustible re'ser\es of fortig-n mercenaries ind negio re- cruits, the Confedeiate army w \h finally exh'\usted The following exhibition of the strength of the Fedeial iimitb IS fi'om the report of the Secretar; ot Wir, at the be- ginning of the session of Confess m December, 1865 Offitial iepoit'4 show ihit on the 1st of Mij Ibdi the d^^ie gite national mihtdry foice of all arms, officers and men, was nine hundred and seventy thouaaad seven hundred and ten, to wit Va ailable force piesent for iluty 663.345 On ieliohea aerujce in the difltrent military departmenlB 10B348 In field hoapilals o> unfit for dutj .. 41,268 In general hospitals or on ■'ick leave at home _ 75 [ITS Absent on fnrlough or ai prlsoaei's of war flftSSO Absent without lei\e 15183 d by Google LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS Tlie aggregate available force present for duty Blay 1st, 1864, Tas distributed in tlie different commands as follows : ■■■-. <2.m - — And again : Official reports show that on the l-st of Maieh, 186B the aggn gate military force of all arms oflicers and men, wis nine hundicd and sixty-five thousand five hundred and ninetj one, to wit Available forces present for duty iw sit, On detached service In the difteiei t iiiljiarv deptiitmenls i i3,to In field hoaplttils and unflt for dutj So bJ> In general hos|>lCals or on sick lea't e 148 n'] Absent on furlough or as prisoneis of ^i ar 1 1 do Absent wlthoDt leave id iHi Grand aggregate..., This force was augmented on the 1st ot May, ISbS, by e meats, to the number of one million fi\i, hundred luJ Msttt all arms, officers and men (l,000,51bj And again he says : d by Google THE KUMERICAL DISFAEITY. 0(0 The ^sregate quotas ohaiged Eigoinst the several States under all calls made by the President of the United States, ftom the 16th day of April, 1861, to the litli day of April, 1866, at whloh lime drafting and reenilting ceased, was 2,769,018 The aggregate number of men credited on the several calls, and put into service of the United States, fn the army, navy, and marine corps, durii^ the aliove period, was. _ 2,656,563 Leaving a deflolenoy on aU calls, when the war closed, of. 102,596 This statement docs not include the regular army, nor the negro troops raised in the Southern States, which were not raised by calls on the States. It may he safely asserted that the "avtulable force present for duty," of the Federal armies at the beginning or close of the last year of the war, exceeded the entire force called into the service of the Confederacy dur- ing the four years. The aggregate of Federal forces raised during the war numbered more than one-third of the free pop- ulation of the Confederate States, including men, women, and children.* *It has been contended that the odds against the South in numbers and resources were compensited bv the advantages of her defensive posi t' d hy th front! incentives uf a wa fur her homei and liherties An ment in demonBt^^tlOn of the assumed defective adniii t t f th Confederacy has been deduced from various historic il m]I f fill resiBtanoe ai^ainst overwhclmins odd'j The mcit pi h! tat n has been the >!Uooe=(s of Frederick the Great in his de f f P against the CDalition of Russia Austria anl FrT,nce Th 11 trail n haa no value as it doeo not at all meet the case W all u) Bideration of the peouliir 'iti ite^ic diffli,ulties of the &o il F ed k fi-st hid the advantage of his English aUiance Fred k f £,ht odiB j,raatei than two to one while the South fiiught th f m tmes five to one— 1 ut neiu «pil numbers Aj^iin P Ti WIS eBBihle except by overland marches — nut penetrated Ilk tl S th ever^ dir ction by nivifcable rivers, and nearly sui d d by th a Frederick too ■nas absolute in Prussia and had th 1 d p p ity of ill his subje;,ta at hia control Mr Dims on tl tl 1 d ei cull (.insohditi. theicicui fs of the buuthasho d by Google 57b LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. But this disparity of numbers, apparently sufficient of itself to decide the issue against the South, was by no means the greatest advantage of the North. Wben it is asserted that the naval superiority of the North decided the contest in its fevor, we are not limited to the consideration merely of that absolute command of the water, which prevented the South from im- porting munitions of war, escept at enormous expense and hazard, which made the defense of the sea-coast and contigu- ous territory impossible, and which so disorganized the Con- federate finances. The Confederacy encountered strategic dif- ficulties, by reason of the naval superiority of the North, which, at an early period of the war, counter-balanced the ad- vantages of its defensive position. In the beginning the enemy had easy, speedy, and secure access to the Southern coast, and wherever there was a harbor or inlet, was to be found a base of operations for a Federal army. Thus, at the outset, the Confederacy presented on every side an exposed frontier. In every quarter, the Federal armies had bases of operations at right angles, each to the other, and thus, wherever the Confederate array established a desired, being eonstanUj hampered by deraagogism in Congress, wliich could at all times be coerced by the press hostile to the administration, or influfinced by the slightest dispky of popular displeasure Pretending to 1 iai,e the whole meina of the countiy at the disposal of the President Congies^ yet inyanaWy rendered if jncj^uies inoperative by emisiulatr iHj,' clansei providing oxomptionB laA immunitipg of eveiy desenption President Davis w^a too wneere ■! republnin xnl Lad too mm.h re gard for the restraints of the Constitution to violently usurp unwanted powera It la to be remembered, too, that the South received no foreign aid, vrhile Frederick was st last saved by the ai i,ession ot Pcfer to the Eua- Bij.n thioni iftliich event di-sjhi'il the LOihtion a^omst Prusaia d by Google sTR/iTEGic mrin.uiriE-, 577 defensive line, it was assailable by a second Fedenl iimy ad- vancing from a second base. The advantage of rapid tonoen- tration of forces, usually belonging to an inteiior Ime was obviated by the easy aud rapid convejancc of large niii'ie's U water. Probably the most serious strategic disadvantage of the South was its territorial con iign ration, tlirough the intersection of its soil in nearly every quarter by navigable rivers, either empty- ing into the ocean, of which the North, at all timei, had un- disputed control, or opening upon the Federal fiontiei In all . the Atlantic States of the Confederacy navigable streams pen- etrate far into the interior, and empty into the sea. The Mis- sissippi, aptiy termGondency into which the 'Southern mind was fast settling. A victory, in any quarter, was now almost the last expectation of the public, and still Early was recklessly abused for not winning victories, with a demoralized army, against forces having (bur times his own strength. Neither President d by Google THE VALLEY CAMrAIGN. 593 Davis nor General Lee ever doubted General Early's efficiency ; and the letter of the commanding general to Early, written in the last hours of the Confederacy, constitutes a tribute to patri- otic and distinguished services, which the old hero may well cherish in his exile, as a worthy title to the esteem of posterity. The defeat of Early at Cedar Creek, late in October, was the decisive event of the last campaign in the Shenandoah Yalley. In December nearly all Early's forces were transferred to General Lee's lines, and the bulk of the Federal army in the Valley returned to General Grant. Gieneral Early remained in the Valley with a fragmentary command, which Sheridan easily 1 on his march from Winchester to the front of Peters- Events in tlie Valley had a marked influence n^Kin the situa- tion near Bicbmond. The Confederate authorities had hoped for such a successful issue in the Valley as should relieve Eich- mond of much of Grant's pressure. The disappointment of this hope left the Federal frontier secure, and gave Grant a lai^e accession of strength, for which Lee had no compensation, eseept the debris of a defeated and dispirited army. The aggregate of military disasters with which the year 1S64 terminated, established the inevitable fiiilure of the Confeder- acy, unless more vigorous measures-than the Government had ever yet attempted should be adopted, and unless the i>eople were prepared for sacrifices which had not yet been exacted. The reserves of men, which the various acts of conscription wore designed to place in the field, were exhausted, or beyond the reach of the Government, and the supplies of the army became more and more precarious each day. There was, in- deed, nothing fatal as affecting the ultimate decision of the contest, in the military events of the past year, if unattended d by Google 594 LIFE Of JEFFERSON BAVIS. by a decay of public spirit. It was not until the winter of 1864^1865 that any considerable body of the Southern people were brought to the conviction that their struggle was a hope- less one, Tiie waste of war is in nothing more continuous than in its test of the moral energy of communities. In the last winter of the war the distrust of the popular mind was painfully apparent. The South began to read its fate when it saw that the North had converted warfare into universal destrnction and desolation, and when it exchanged the code of civilized war for the grim butchery of Grant, and the savage measures of Sherman and Sheridan, It was plain that while the losses of the Federal army were shocking, and were sutH- cient to have unnerved the army and the people of the North, the "attrition" of General Grant had caused a fearful dimi- nution of the Confederate armies. The facility of the Federal Government in repairing its losses of men, baffled all previous calculation in the Confeder- acy, and it had long since become evident that the resources of the North, in all other respects, were equal to an indefinite endurance. Indeed, it has been jnstly said that the material resources of the North were not seriously tested, but merely developed by the war. Peculiarly disheartening to the South was the triumph of the Republican parly in the reelection of Mr. Lincoln — an event plainly portending a protraction of the war upon a scale, which should adequately employ the in- exhaustible means at the command of the Federal Govern- It would be needless to speculate now as to the material capacity of the South to have met the demands of anothet campaign. The mihtary capacity of the Confederacy in the last months of the war, is not to be measured by the number d by Google DESPONDENCY OP 1 of men that stili miglit have been brought to the field, or by the material raeana which yet survived the consumption and waste of war. These considerations are admissible only in connection with that moral condition of the public, which fitted or disqualified it for longer endurance of the privations and sacrifices of the war. Long before the close of winter, popular feeling assumed a phase of sullen indifirerence which, while yet averse to unconditional submission to the North, manifestly despaired of ultimate success, viewed additional sacrifices as hopeless, and anticipated the worst. Only a hasty and ill-informed judgment could condemn the Southern people for the decay of its spirit in this last stage of the war. No people ever endured with more heroism the trials and privations incidental to their situation. Yet these sacrifices appeared to have been to no purpose; a cruel and inexorable fate seemed to pursue them, and to taunt them with the futility of exertion to escape its decree. Victories, which had amazed the world, and again and again stunned a powerful adversary, and which the South felt that, under ordinary cir- cumstances, should have secured the reward of independence, were recurred to only as making more bitter the chagrin of the present. Previous defeats, at the time seeming fatal, had been patiently encountered, and bravely surmounted, so long as victory appeared to offer a reward which should compen- sate for the sacrifice necessary to obtain it. But, now, even the hope of victory had almost ceased to be a source of en- couragement, since any probable success would only tend to a postponement of the inevitable catastrophe, which, perhaps, it would be better to invite than to defer. It must be confessed, too, that the people and the army of the Confederacy, in this crisis, found but little source of re- d by Google OSb LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. animation in the example of a majority of its public men. Long before the taint of demoralization reached the heart of the masses, the Confederate cause had been despaired of by ; men whose influence and position determined the convictions of whole communities. In President Davis and General I^ee the South saw conspicuous examples of resolution, fortitude, and self-abnegation. It is not to be denied that the impatient and almost despairing temper of the public was visibly influ- enced by the j>ersistent crimination of Mr. Davis, by the fac- tion which sought to thwart him even at the hazard of the public welfare. But when it was discovered that the unity of counsel and purpose which had animated the President and General Lee at every stage of the struggle, was still main- tained, popular sympathy still clung to the leader, whose un- selfish devotion and unshaken fortitude should have been a sufficient rebuke to his acca ers A vast dea! of misrepresent ition In b n in lulge 1 to >,! d v that Mr, Davis had become unp p ilar m the li t stage of the war, and that he was the object of popular lepioach as chiefly responsible for the condition of the countiy To the ci.i trarj there were many evidences uf the sjmjithj which enibriced Mr, Davis as probably the chief sufterer fiom appiehenltd oaiamities. His appearance m public in R chmond wis al ways the occasion of unreatriined populir enthusiasm E\en but a few weeks before the finil catastrophe tl eie weie sigiil instances of the popular nffection foi him and it wi painfully evident to those who knew 1 is ehni ictei that tl e e de ion stnitions were accepted by him as an exhibitun of p pulii confidence in the success of the cause Indeed the \eiy c n fidence which these exhibitions of pcjulir s^mjitlj piodu el in the mind of Mr. Davi 1 as b en 111^,61 in t\i! nee ot d by Google ME. DAVIs' HOPES, 597 a want of sagacity, ■which disqualified him for a clear apprecia- tion of the situation of affairs. Perhaps with more color of truth than usual, this view of Mr. Davis' character has been presented. That he did not fully comprehend the wide-spread demoralization of the South in the last months of the war, is hardly to he questioned. Judging men by his own exalted nature, he conceived it im- possible that the South could ever abandon its hope of inde- pendence. He did not realize how men could cherish an aspi- ration for the future, which did not embrace the liberty of their country. No sacrifice of personal interests or hopes were, in his view, too great to be demanded of the country in behalf of a cause, for which he was at all times ready to surrender his life. Of such devotion and self-abnegation, a sanguine and resolute spirit was the natural product, and it is a paltry view of such qualities to characterize them as the proof of defective intellect. Just such qualities have won the battles of liberty in all ages. "Washington, at Valley Forge, with a wretched remnant of an army, which was yet the last hope of the country, and with even a more gloomy future im- mediately before him, declared that in the last emergency he would retreat to the mountains of Virginia, and there continue the struggle in the hope that he would "yet lift the flag of his bleeding country from the dust." In the same spirit Jef- ferson Davis would never have abandoned the Confederate cause so long as it had even a semblance of popular support. Almost to the last moment of the Confederacy, he continued to cherish the hope of a reaction in the public mind, which he believed would be immediately kindled to its old enthusiasm by a decided success. It was in recognition of this quality of in- flexible purpose, as much as of any other trait of his character, d by Google 598 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. that the South originally intrusted Davis with leadership. Pit leaders of revolutions are not usually found in men of half-hearted purpose, wanting in resolution themselves, and doubting the fidelity of those whom they govern. Desperate trial is the occasion which calls forth the courage of those truly great men, who, while ordinary men despair, confront agony itself with sublime resolution. If ingenuity and malignity have combined to exaggerate the faults of Mr. Davis, the love of his countrymen, the can- dor of honorable enemies, and the intelligence of mankind have recognized his intellectual and moral greatness. The world tixlay does not afford such an example of those blended qual- ities which constitute the title to universal excellence. For one in his position, the leader of a bold, warlike, intelligent, and discerning people, there was demanded that union of ardor and deliberation which he so peculiarly illustrated. Revolu- tionary }ieriods imperatively demand tliis union of capacities for thought and action. The peculiar charm of Mr. Davis is the perfect poise of his faculities; an almost exact adjustment of qualities; of indomitable enei^ and winning grace; heroic courage and tender affection; strength of character, and almost excessive compassion ; of calculating judgment and knightly sentiment; acute penetration and analysis; comprehensive per- ception; laborious habits, and ahnost universal knowledge. Of him it may be said as of Hamilton : " He wore the blended wreath of arms, of law, of statesmanship, of oratory, of letters, of scholarship, of practical a&irs ; " and in most of these fields of distinction, Mr. Davis has few rivals among the publie men of America. But it is altogether a fallacious supposition that the mili- taiy situation of the Confederacy, in the last winter of the d by Google THE CONPEDERATB CONGRESS. 599 war, was beyond reclamation. The most hasty glance at the situation revealed the feasibility of destroying Sherman, when he turned northward from Savannah, with a proper concen- tration of the forces yet available. President Davis anxiously sought to secure this concentration, but was disappointed by causes which need not here be related. With Sherman de- feated, the Confederacy must have obtained a new lease of life, as all the territory which he had overrun, would immedi- ately be recovered, and the worthless title of his conquests would be apparent, even to the North, There were indeed many aspects of the situation encouraging to enterprise, could an adequate army be obtained, and the heart of the country reanimated. President Davis was not alone in the indulgence of hope of better fortune. Again he had the sanction of Lee's name in confirmation of bis hopes, and in support of the meas- ures which he recommended. But the resolution of the Presidont was nut sustained by the coSperation of Congress. The last session of that body was commemorated by a signal display of timidity and vacillation. Congress assembled in November, and at the beginning of its session its nerve was visibly shaken. Before its adjournment in March, there was no longer even a pretense of organized opinion and systematic legislation. Its occupation during the winter was mainly crimination of the President, and a con- temptible frivolity, which at last provoked the hearty disgust of the public. The calibre of the last Confederate Congress may be correctly estimated, when it is stated that as late as the 22d of February, 1865, less than sixty days before the fall of Eichmond, that body -ivas earnestly engaged in devising a nme flag for the Confederacy. Kot a single measure of importance was adopted without d by Google bt'f I-IFB OF JEFPEKSON DAVIS. some emaaeulating clause, or without such postponement as made it practically inoperative. Of all the vigorous sug- gestions of Mr. Davis for recruiting the army, mobilizing the subsistence, and renovating the material condition of the coun- try, hardly one was adopted in a practicable shape. Congress had clearly despaired of the cause. It had not the courage to counsel the submission, of which it secretly felt the nccessityj and left the capital with a declaration that the " conquest of the Confederacy was geographically impossible," yet clearly attesting by its flight a very different view of the situation. The history of the Congress of the Confederate States is a record of singular imbecility and irresolution. It was a body without leaders, without popular sympathy, without a single one of those heroic attributes which are usually evoked in peri- ods of revolution. It may safely be asserted that in the history of no other great revolution does the statesmanship of its legis- lators appeal' so contemptible, when compared with the military administration which guided its armies. "Whatever may be the estimate of the executive ability of the Confederate admin- istration, it can not be denied that its courage was abundant ; nor can it be questioned that the courage of Congress often required the spur of popular sentiment. In the wholesale condemnation of Mr. Davis by a class of writers, it is remark- able that the defective legislation of the Confederacy should be accredited with so little influence in producing its failure. If he was so grossly incompetent, what must be the verdict of his- tory upon a body which, for four years, submitted to a ruinous administration when the corrective means were in its own hands? Of Mr. Davis' relations with Congress, Ex-Secretary Mal- lory writes as follows : d by Google ME. DAVIs' EELATIONS WITH CONGKESS. 601 " I Bave said that his relations with members of Coagress were not what they should have heen, nor were thej what they might have been. Towards them, as towards the world generally, he wore his personal opinions very openly. Position and opportunity pre- sented him every means of cultivating the personal good-will of members by little acts of attention, courtesy, or deference, which no man, however high in his position, who has to work by means of his fellows, can dispense with. G-reat minds can, in spite of the absence of these demonstrations towards them in a leader — nay, in the face of neglect or apparent disrespect — go on steadily and bravely, with a single eye to the public welfare ; but the number of these in comparison to those who are more or less governed by personal considerations in the discharge of their public duties is small. While he was ever frank and cordial to his friends, and to all whom ho believed to be embarked heart and soul in the cause of Southern independence, he would not, and, we think, could not, sacrifice a smile, an inflection of the voice, or a demonstration of attention to flatter the self-love of any man, in or out of Congress, who did not stand in this relation. Acting himself for the public welfare, regardless of self or the opin- ions of others, he placed too light a value upon the thousand nameless influences by which he might have brought others up, apparently, to his own high moral standard. By members of Congress, who had to see hinion business, his reception of them was frequently complained of as ungracious. They frequently, in their anxiety amidst publio disaster, called upon him to urge plans, suggestions, or views on the conduct of the war, or for the attainment of peace, and often pressed matters upon him which he had very carefully considered, and for which he alone was responsible. "Often, in such cases, though he listened to all they had to say — why, for example, some man should be made a brigadier, major or lieutenant-general, or placed at the head of an army, ete. — and in return calmly and precisely stated his reasoas against the d by Google LIFE OF JEFFBESON DAVIS. I at times failed to satisfy or ( bec!iuse, in tis manoer and language combined, there was just an indescribable something which offended their self-esteem. Some of his best friends left him at times with feelings bordering closely upon anger from this cause, and with a determination, hastily formed, of calling no more upon him ; and some of the most sensible and patriotic men of both Houses were alienated from him more or less from this cause. The counsel of judicious friends upon this subject, and as to more unrestrained intercourse between him and the members of the Senate and the House, was vainly exerted. His manly, fearless, true, and noble nature turned from what to him wore the faintest approach to seeking popularity, and he scorned to believe it necessary to coax men to do tlieir duty te their country in her darkest hour of need." "When Congress assembled in November it was plain that the army must have other means of recruiting than from the remnant yet left by the conscription. There was bnt one measure by which the requisite numbers could be supplied, and that was the extension of the conscription to the slave population. Public sentiment was at first much divided upon this subject, but gradually the propriety of the measure was made evident, and something like a renewal of hoj)e was man- ifested at the prospect of making use of an element which the enemy so efficiently employed. President Davis had, for months previous, contemplated the enlistment of the slaves for service in various capacities in the field. In the last winter of the war he strongly urged a negro enrollment, as did General Lee, whose letter to a member of Congress eventually convinced the country of its necessity. "Whatever may have been the merits of the proposition to arm the slaves, as a means of renovating the military condition d by Google VACILLATING COURSE OF COKGEESS. 60A of the Confederacy, the dilatory action of Congress left no hope of its practical execution. The discussion upon this subject continued during the entire sassion, and -was at last terminated by the adoption of a bill providing for the reception of such slaves into the service as might be tendered by their masters. Mr. Davis and General Lee both advocated the extension of freedom to such of the slaves as would volunteer, and this was clearly the only system of enrollment upon which they could be efficiently employed. But even though the slave-holding interest had not thus emasculated the measure, by refusing emancipation, it was too late to hope for any results of impor- tance. The bill was not passed until three weeks before the fell of Eichmond. But Congress found congenial employment in giving vent to its partisan malignity, by the adoption of measures plainly designed to humiliate the Executive, and with no expectation of improving the condition of the Confederacy, which most of its members believed to be already beyond reclamation. In this spirit was dictated the measure making General Lee virtually a military dictator, and that expressing want of con- fidence in the cabinet. All of this action of Congress was extra-official, and subversive of the constitutional authority of the Executive, but it utterly failed in its obvious design. President Davis never made a more noble display of feeling, than in his response to the resolution of the Virginia Legisla- ture recommending the appointment of General Lee to the command of the armies of the Confederacy. Said he : " The opinion expressed by the General Assembly in regard to Gen- eral E. E. Lee has my full concurrence. Virginia can not have a higlier regard for him, or gi-eater confidence in his character and ability, than is entertamed by me. When Gen- d by Google 604 LIFE OP JEFFEKSON DAVIS. eral Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia, he ■was in command of all the armies of the Confederate States by my order of assignment. He continued in this general command, as well as in the immediate command of tlie Army of ^Northern Virginia, as long aa I could resist his opinion that it was necessary for him to be relieved from one of these two duties. Ready as he has ever shown himself to be to per- form any service that I desired him to render to his country, he left it for me to choose between his withdrawal from the command of the army in the field, and relieving him of the general command of all the armies qf the Confederate States. It was only when satisfied of this necessity that I came to the conclusion to relieve him from the general command, believ- ing that the safety of the capital and the success of our cause depended, in a great measure, on then retaining him in the command in the field of the Army of Northern Virginia. On several subsequent occasions, the desire on my part to enlarge the sphere of General Lee's usefiilness, has led to renewed consideration of the subject, and he has always expressed his inability to assume command of other armies than those now confided to him, unless i-elieved of the immediate command in tlie field of that now opposed to General Grant." A striking indication of the feverish condition of the pub- lic mind of both sections, during the last winter of the war, was the ready credence given to the most extravagant and im- probable rumors. "Washington correspondents of Northern newspapei-s declared that the air of the Federal capital was " thick with rumors of negotiation." At Richmond this cred- nlous disposition was even more marked. Men were found as late as the middle of March, who believed that President Da- vis had actually formed an alliance, offensive and defensive, d by Google THE "BLAIR MISSIOK." G05 with the Frencli Emperor. In the month of January the rumors as to peace negotiations assumed a more definite shape, in the arrival of Mr. Franeis P. Blair at the Confederate capital. It is remarkable that the "Blair mission" and its sequel, the Hampton Eoads conference, though palpably contemplat- ing only the discussion of such mere generalities as belong to other efforts at peace at different stages of tliewar, and, indeed, introducing nothing in the shape of formal negotiation, should have been dignified as a most important episode. Equally remarkable, in view of the published proceedings of the Hamp- ton Roads conference, is the disposition to censure President Davis for having designedly interposed obstacles to the con- summation of peace. Mr. Blair visited Richmond by the permission of President Lincoln, but without any official au- thority, and without having the objects of his mission com- mitted to paper. In short, Mr. Blair's mission had no oiBcial character, and he came to Richmond to prevail upon Mr. Davis to encourage, in some manner, preliminary steps to negotiation. In his interviews with the Confederate President, Mr. Blair disclaimed the official countenance of the Federal authorities for the objects of his visit. It was known to the world, that Mr. Davis, upon repeated occasions, had avowed his desire for peace upon any terms consistent with the honor of his country, and that he would not present difficulties as to forms in the attainment of that object, at this critical pe- riod. Hence, despite the unauthorized nature of Mr. Blair's conciliatory efforts, Mr. Davis gave him a letter, addressed to himself, avowing the willingness of the Confederate authori- ties to begin negotiations, to send or receive commissioners autliorized to treat, and to "renew the effort to enter into a d by Google 60b LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. conference, with a view to secure peace between the two coun- tries." Mr. Lincoln, in a letter to Mr. Blair, acknowledged having read Mr. Davis' note, and avowed hia readiness to receive an agent from Mr. Davis, or from the authority resisting the Federal Government, to confer with him informally, with the view of restoring peace to the people of " our common coun- try." The commissioners appointed by Mr. Davis, after this notifi- cation, were Vice-President Stephens, Senator Hunter, and Judge Campbell. The conference was held on a steamer lying in Hampton Roads, between the three Confederate commission- ers and Messrs. Lincoln and Sewaa-d. By both sides the inter- view was treated as informal ; there were neither notes nor secretaries, nor did the interview assume any other shape than an irregular conversation. During the four hours of desul- tory discussion, there was developed no basis of negotiation, no ground of possible agreement. Mr. Lincoln declared that he would consent to no truce or suspension of hostilities, ex- cept upon the single condition of the disbandment of the Con- federate forces, and the submission of the revolted States to the authority of the Union. The result was simply the assertion, in a more arrogant form, of the Federal ultimcUum — the un- conditional submission of the South, its acquiescence in all the unconstitutional l^islation of the Federal Congress respecting slavery, including emancipation, and the right to legislate upon the subject of the relations between the white and black pop- ulations of each State. Mr. Lincoln, moreover, refused to treat with the authorities of the Confederate States, or with the States separately; declared that the consequences of the estab- lishment of the Federal authority would have to be accepted, d by Google THE "BLAIE MI9SI0S." 607 and declined giving any guarantee whatever, except an in- definite assurance of a liberal use of t!ie pardoning power, towards those who were assumed to have made themselves liable to the pains and penalties of the laws of the United States, The statement of the Confederate commissioners, and all the known facts of the transaction, demonstrate, without argument, the injustice of holding Mr. Davis responsible, to any extent, for the results of the Hampton Eoads conference. "With one voice the South accepted the result as establishing the purpose of the Federal Government to exact "unconditional submis- sion," as the only condition of peace, and scorned the insolent demand of the enemy. If the South had shown itself willing to accept the terms of the Federal Government, or if Mr. Lincohi had suggested other propositions tlian that of uncon- ditional submission, then only could Mr, Davis be charged ■with having presented obstacles to the termination of the war. Nor is it to be assumed that the terms of his letter to Mr. Blair, referring to his desire for peace between the " two coun- tries," precluded negotiation upon the basis of reunion. His lan- guage was that of a proper diplomacy, which should not com- mit the error of }ieldm£; m advance to the demanlb cf m enemy, then insolei t in whit he regarded as the I'tsniance of certain Mctor The peiiod was opportune for mignammitj on the part of the N rth but not piopitiou* for the dispUv oi over-anxious conccssicn b-; the South Mr Di\is was at tins time anxijus for propcitions fiom the Fedeial Government, for, while he hid not despaired of the Confedeiacy, he was deeply impressed with the increasing obstacles to its success. His frequent declaration, at this time, was : " I am solicitous only for the good of the people, and am indifferent as to the d by Google 608 LIFE OP JEFFEESON DAVIS, forms by which the public interests are to be subserved." !tn(^eefi, the Federal authorities had ample assurance that Mr. Davis would present any basis of settlement, which might be offered, to the several States of the Confederacy for their indi- vidaa! action. Nor did he doubt the acceptance of reconstruc- tion, without slavery even, by several of the States — an event which would have left the Confederacy too weak for further resistance. In view of the consistent record of Mr. Davis, during the entire period of the war, to promote the attainment of peace, it is remarkable that there should ever have been an allega- tion of a contrary disposition. In a letter, written in 1864, to Governor Vance, of North Carolina, he conclusively stated his course upon the subject of peace. Said llr. Davis, in this letter : "We have made three distinct efforts to communicate with the authorities at Washington, anci iiave been invariahly unsuccessful. Oommissiouers were sent before hostilities were begun, and the WashiugtOQ Government refused to receive them or hear what they had to say. A second time, I sent a military officer with a communication addressed by myself to President Lincoln. The letter was received by General Scott, who did not permit the offi- cer to ee Mr L n In b t p om e 1 tl at an an we would bo sent No answer has ever 1 c n re e ed Tl e fl 1 t me a few nonfhs go a cnll m n was sent wl ose j to har te nd re] t t on we c u h as to ensu e 1 recej t on, f the enemy we e not de ern ned to re e e no p opo jIs wl atever f om t! e (jo e n nent V ce P e dent Stephen mad a patr ot c tender t 1 e V es n tl e hoje of be ng able to i on ote the ca of 1 uman ty ind Itl o hi ttle bel f wa enic ta n d of I u I 1 e f lly y 1 1 1 tg L s ^ e t u tl t (! c sie n nt d by Google Jin. DAVIs' VIEWS AS TO I'EAC'E. 609 slioulil be tried. The enemy refused to let him pass through their lines or hold any conference with them. He was stopped before he ever reached Fortress Monroe, on his way to Wiish- " If we will break up our Government, dissolve the Confederacy, disband our armies, emancipate our slaves, take an oath of alle- giance, binding ourselvea to obedience to him and of disloyalty to our own States, he proposes to pardon us, and not to plunder us of any thing more than the property already stolen from us, and such slaves as still remain. In order to render his proposals so insulting as to secure their rejection, he joins to them a promise to support. ■ with his army one tenth ot the people of any State who will it tempt to set up a government over the other nine tenth'!, thui seeking to aow disooid and suspicion dmong the people of the sc\ eral States, and to escite them to civil war m furthoiance ot his ends I know well it would be impossible to get your people, if they possessed full knowledge of these facts, to consent that propo- sals should now be made by us to those who control the Govorn- ment at Washington. Your own well-knowu devotion to the great cause of liberty and independence, to which we have all committed whatever we have of earthly possessions, would induce you to take the lead in repelling the bare thought of abject submission to the enemy. Yet peace on other terms is now impossible." The spirit in which the South received the results of the Hampton Roads conference is to be correctly estimated by the following extract from a Richmond newspaper, of date Feb- ruary 15, 1865: " The world can again, for the hundredth time, see couelusive evidence in the hi'ttory and sequel of the 'Blair mission,' the biood-guiltinesa of the enemy, and their responsibility for the ruin, desolation, and suffering which have followed, and will yet d by Google 610 LIFE OF JEFPEitSON DAVIS. follow, their heartless attempts to sutjugate and destroy an inno- cent people. The South again wins honor from the good, the magnanimous, the truly brave every-where by her efforts to stop the effusion of blood, save the lives and the property of her own citizens, and to stop, too, the slaughter of the victims of the enemy's cruelty, which has forced or deceived them into the ranks of his armies. We have lost nothing by our efforts in behalf of peace; for, waiving all consideration of the reanimation and re- union of our people, occasioned by Lincoln's haughty rejection of our commissioners, we have added new claims upon the sympathy and respect of the world and posterity, which will not fail to be remembered to our honor, in the history of this struggle, even though we should finally perish in it. The position of the South at this moment is indeed one which should stamp her as the champion, not only of popular rights and self-government, which Americans have so much cherished, but as the champion of the spirit of humanity in both sections ; for it can not be supposed that we have all the sorrows as well as sufferings of this war to endure, and that there are no desolate homes, no widows and or- phans, no weeds nor cypress in the enemy's country "One fact is certain, that whatever Seward's design may have been, and whatever its success may be, the Confederacy has derived an immediate advantage from the visit of our commissioners to Fortress Monroe. Nothing could have so served to reanimate the courage and patriotism of our people, as his attempted imposition of humiliation upon us. Lincoln will hear no more talk of 'peace' and 'negotiation' from the Southern side, for now we are united as one man in the purpose of self-preservation and venge- ance, and it may not be long before his people, now rioting in excessive exultation over successes really valueless, and easily counter -balanced by one week of prosperous fortune for the South, will tremble at the manifestation of the spirit which they have aroused." d by Google DELUSIVE INDICATIONS. 611 But the evidences of popular reanimation in the South were delusive. For a brief moment there was a spirit of fierce and almost desperate resolution. At a meeting held in the African church, in Richmond, President Davis delivered one of bis most eloquent popular orations, and the enthusiasm was perhaps greater than upon any similar occasion during the war. But popular feeling soon lapsed into the sullen despondency, from which it had been temporarily aroused by the unparalleled insult of the enemy. Yet the uUimatum of Mr. Lincoln, and the declared will of the South, left President Davis no other policy than a continuation of the struggle, with a view fo the best attainable results. Upon this course he was now fully resolved, looking to the future with serious apprehension, not altogether unrelieved by hope. The report of the Hampton Roads conference and its results, was made by President Davis, to Congress, on the 5th Feb- ruary: " To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America: " Having recently received a written notification, whicli satisfied me tliat the President of the TJoited States was disposed to confer, informally, with unofficial agents that might be sent by me, with a view to the restoration of peace, I requested Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, Hon. E. M. T. Hunter, and Hon. John A. Campbell, to proceed through our lines, to hold a conference wifii Mr. Lincoln, or such persona as he might depute to ropru&ent him. "I herewith submit, for the information of Congress, the report of the eminent citizens above oamed, showing that the enemy re- fuse to enter into negotiations with the Oonfedorato States, or any one of them separately, or to give our people any other terms or guarantees than those which a Ci^nqueror may grant, or permit us d by Google 612 LIFE OP JEFFERSOK BAVIS. to have jeaee on any other liatio than our uneonJitional submission to their rule coupled with the aeceptince of their recent lej,isk tion including an amendment to the Con titution for the emanc pa tion of ne^ro slaves md with the ii^ht on the part of the Fi.deral Congies'- to legislate on the '•uhject of the reUtionb between the white tnd black population ot e ch State Such is as I underatand the effect of tte amendment to the Constitution whioh has been idopted hy the Cougies" of the Unite I States, "JEFFERSON DAVIS. " ExEcunvB Office, Feb. 5, 1865." "EiCHMONn, Va., February 5, 1865. "lb the Prmdent of the Confederate States-^ "SiE: Under your letter of appointment of 28th ult,, we pro- ceeded to seek an informal conference with Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, upon the subject mentioned in your letter. "The conference was granted, and took place oa the 3d inst., on board a steamer anchored in Hampton Koads, where we met President Lincoln and Hon. Mr. Seward, -Secretary of State of the United States. It continued for several hours, and was both fu!! and explicit, " We learned from them that the Message of President Lincoln to the Congress of the United States, in December last, explains clearly and distinctly, his sentiments as to terms, conditions, and method of proceeding hy which peaoc can be secured to the peo- ple, and we were not informed that they would be modified or altered to obtain' that end. We understood from him that no terms or proposals of any treaty or agreement looking to an ulti- mate settlement would be entertained or made by him with the authorities of the Confederate States, because that would he a rec- ognitiou of their existence as a separate power, which, under no d by Google OFFICIAL 00EEE8PONDENCE. 613 eiTcumstaneet would be iIodl, and iur 1 Le reasoDS, that no such teims would be entertaiDt-d by him ftom States separately; that no extundid tniee or armiatioe ^b dt present advised, would be granted or allowed without « itisftctory assuiance, m advance, of complete restor-ition of the authority of the Constitution and laws of the United Statis over all places within the States of the Confederacy; that whatever i-omequLUces may follow from the reestablish me nt of that -juthoiity must be accepted but the individnala subject to poms and penalties under thi, laws of the United States, might rel} upon a veiy liberal use of the power confided t LIFE OP JEFFEESON DAVIS. There was nothing in the calm exterior of President Davis, during the days of early spring, to indicate that he was then meditating an abandonment of that capital, for the safety of which he had striven during four yeara of solicitude, and in the defense of which the flower of Southern chivalry had been sacrificed. There was no abatement of that self-possession, which had so often pro\en in\ulnerable to the most trying ex- igencies; no alteration of that tommanding mien, so typical of resolntion and >it.if lehance lo the despondent citizens of Richmond, there was somethmg of re-assurance in the firm and elastic step of their President, it. he walked, usually unattended, through the Capitol 'squaie to his office. His responses to the respectful salutitions of the children, who never failed to testify their affection for him, were as genial and playful as ever, and the slaves still boasted of the cordiality with which he ac- knowledged their civility. A similar cheerfulness was observed in General Lee. In the last months of the war, it was a frequent observation that General Lee appeared more cheerful in manner than upon many occasions, when his army was engaged ifi its most suc- cessful campaigns. Hon. William C. Elves was quoted in the Confederate Congress, as having said that General Lee " had but a single thing to fear, and that was the spreading of a causeless despondency among the people. Prevent this, and all will be well. "We have strength enough left to win our independence, and we are certain to win it, if people do not give way to foolish despair." I'rom the beginning of winter, the possibility of holding Richmond was a matter of grave doubt to President Davis. He had announced to the Confederate Congress that the cap- ital was now menaced by greater perils than ever. Yet a d by Google PREPARATIONS TO EVACUATE EICHMOSD. bl7 proper consideratiou of the moral consequences of a loss of the capital, not less than of the material injury which must result from the loss of the manufacturing facilities of Eichmond, dic- tated the contemplation of its evacuation only as a measure of necessity. When, however, the dilatory and vacillating ac- tion of Congress baffled the President in all his vigorous and timely measures, there was hardly room to doubt that the al- ternative was forced upon General Lee of an early retreat or an eventual surrender. When spring opened, the Army of Northern Virginia was reduced to less than thirty-five thou- sand men. With this inadequate force, General Lee was hold- ing a line of forty miles, against an army nearly one hundred and seventy-five thousand strong. A prompt conscription of the slaves, upon the basis of emancipation, the President and General Lee believed would have put at rest ail anxiety for the safety of Eichmond. But when the threadbare discus- sions and timid spirit of Congress foretold the failure of this measure, preparations were quietly begun for a retirement to an interior line of defense. These preparations were commenced early in February, and were conducted with great caution. Mr, Davis did not believe that the capture of Richmond entailed the loss of the Confed- erate cause should Lee's and Johnston's armies remain intact. That it diminished the probability of ultimate success was ob- vious, but there was the anticipation of a new basis of hope, in events not improbable, could Lee's army be suecessfally carried fi-om Petersburg. A thorough defeat of Sherman would obviously recover at once the Carolinas and Georgia, and give to the Confederafiy a more enlarged jurisdiction and more easy subsistence, than it had controlled for more than a year. A reasonable anticipation was the rc-awakening of the d by Google 618 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. patriotic spirit of the people, and the return of thousands of absentees to the army, as the immediate results of a decisive defeat of Sherman. Then, even if it should prove that the Confederacy could not cope with the remaining armies of the enemy, it was confidently believed that the North, rather than endure the sacriiices and doubts of another campaign, would offer some terms not inconsistent with the honor of the South to accept. At all events, resistance must continue until the enemy abated his haughty demand of unconditional submis- sion. The movements of Sherman and Johnston reduced the the- atre upon which the crisis was enacting to very contracted limits. The fete of the Confederacy was to be decided in the district between the Roanoke and James Rivers, and the At- lantic Ocean and the Alleghanies. General Grant, fuOy ap- prised of the extremities to which Lee was reduced, for weeks kept his army in readiness to intercept the Confederate re- treat. It was greatly to the interest of the Federal com- mander that Lee should be held at Petersburg, since liia su- perior numbers must eventually give him possession of the Southside Railroad, which was vital to Lee not only as a means of subsistence, but as an avenue of escape. But Gen- eral Grant, sooner than he anticipated, found an opportunity for a successful detachment of a competent force against the Southside Railroad by the arrival of Sheridan's cavalry, ten thousand strong — as splendid a body of cavalry as ever took the field. The swollen condition of James River had pre- vented the consummation of Sheridan's original mission, which was, after he had effectually destroyed all Lee's communica- tions northward and westward, to capture Lynchburg, and thence to pass rapidly southward to Sherman. Finding the d by Google lee's defeat. 619 river impassable, Sheridan retired in the direction of Rich- mond, passed Lee's left wing, crossed the Pamunkey Kiver, and, by the 25th of March, had joined Grant before Peters- burg. General Grant was not slow in the employment of this timely accession. The fetal disaster of Lee's defeat at Petersburg was the battle of Five Forks, on the 1st of April, by which the enemy secured the direct line of retreat to Danville. For, without that event, the fete of Petersburg and Richmond was deter- mined by the result of Grant's attack upon the Confederate centre on the 2d of April. With all the roads on the south- ern bank of the Appomattox in the possession of the enemy, there remained only the line of retreat upon the northern side, which was the longer route, while the pursuing enemy had all the advantage of the interior line. But for that disadvantage, Lee's escape would have been assured, and the Confederate line of defense reestabhshed near the Eoanoke River. President Davis received the intelligence of the disasters while seated in his pew in St. Paul's Church, where he had been a communicant for nearly three years. The momentous intelHgcnce was conveyed to him by a brief note from the War Department. General Lee's dispatch stated that his lines had been broken, and that all efforts to restore them had proven unsuccessful. He advised preparations for the evacu- ation of the city during the night, unless, in the meantime, he should advise to the contrary. Mr. Davis immediately left the church with his- usual calm manner and measured tread.* The tranquil demeanor of the President conveyed no indica- * The author has seen an absuid statement, made -without auy inqairy into the facte, that Mr. Davis was seen to turn "ghastly whif«" at tte moraoat of receiving the intelhgence of the disaster at Petersturg. It is d by Google twU LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. fion of the nature of the communication. But the incident Vas an unusual one, and, by the congregation, most of whom had for days been burdened with the anticipations of disaster, the unspoken intelligence was, to some extent, correctly in- terpreted. The family of Mr. Davis had been sent southward some days before, and he was, therefore, under the necessity of little prepa- ration for departure. Though his concern was obvious, his calm- ness was remarkable. In this trying exigency in his personal fortunes, he showed anxiety only for the fate of the country, and sympathy for that devoted community from which he was now compelled to separate On the night of Sunday, April 2d, 1865, Mr. Davis, a^ tended by his personal staff, members of his cabinet, and attaches of the several departments, left Richmond, which then ceased forever to be the capital of the Southern Confed- eracy. In a few hours after, that city, whose defense will be more famous than that of Saragossa, whose capture was for four years the aspiration of armies aggregating more than a million of men, became the spoil of a conqueror, and the scene of a conflagration, in which "all the hopes of the South- ern Confederacy were consumed in one day, as a scroll in the fire." In accordance with his original design of making a new defensive Kne near the Roanoke River, Mr. Davis i Bimply one of a thousand other recltles? calumnies, with as little founda- tion as the rest We do not,feel eaUed upon here to relate the details of the cTaonatioa of Eiohmond and the occupation of the city by the Federal army. They are, doubtleiH, known to every intelligent reader, and we are here spe- cially concerned only in tlie movements of Mr. Davjs. d by Google PROCLAMATION. 621 directly to Danville. His determination was to maintain the Confederate authority upon the soil of Virginia, until driven from it by force of arms. Keaehing Danville on the 3d of April, he issued, two days afterwards, the following proclama^ tion: Danvilie T i. Ajril 5 1 The Generil m Chief found it nece" aiy tn make aucli inoie jnents of hia tioojs a'* to uncovei the cipit 1 It wouid l^e uu wi^o to conceal the monl and material injury to our cause le^ult lUf, from the otcujntion of oui cipifil by the enemy It is ej^uilly unwi e and unwuilhy of us to allow our owu enerr,ie^> to filter and our efforts t become relaxed under lever c« howevei oalami tous thej may bt. For many mcnths the largest and finest army of .the Confedeiacy under i leader whjae presence mapiies equal confidence m the troops and the people has been greatly tram meled by the necessity of ke ping constant watch over the ip preaches to the cipital and has thus been forced to foiego more than one opj jitinity for promising enterprise It is for us my countiymen to show by our beann^ under reyuraes how wretched Lis been the sell deoLption ct tho e who h ve bUie^ed uh Ilss able to endure mist rtuae with foititode than to encounter danger We have now entered upon a new phase ot the struggle Ke lieved from the necessity of guarding particular points our army will be free to move from point to point to stnke the enemy in dctad far from his base Let us but will it and we aru fice Vnimated ly that corfilence in jcui jirit and toititude which ne\er yet failed me I innounce to y u tdlow countrjmen that it 1 my patpo e to maintain your cause with my whole heart i 1 s ul that I will never consent to abandon to the enemy one toot of the soil of any of the States of the Confederacy ; that Virginia — noble State — whose ancient renown has been eclipsed by her still d by Google 622 LIFE OF JEPFEESON BAVI8. more glorious recent tistory ; whose bosom has teen bared to re- ceive thd main shock of this war ; wliose sons and daughters have exhibited heroism so sublime as to render her illustrious in all time to come — that Virginia, with the help of the people, and by the blessing of Providence, shall be held and defended, and no peace ever be made with the infamous invaders of her terri- tory. " If, by the stress of numbers, we should be compelled to a tem- porary withdrawal from her limits, or those of any other border State, we will return until the baffled and exhausted enemy shall abandon in despair his endless and impossible task of making slaves of a people revived to ba free " Lot us, then, nut de-ipond, m j countrymen, but, relying on God, meet the foe with fresh defiance, and with uneonquored and uneon- c[aerable hearts. "JEFFERSON DAVIS." Meanwhile, some semblance of order in several of the de- partments of govermnent was estabiished, thoughj of course, the continued occupation of Danville was dependent upon the safety of Lee's army. Days of ans ions suspensej during which there was no intelligence from Lee, were passed, until on Mon- day, the 10th of April, it was announced that the Army of Northern Virginia had surrendered. Leaving Danville, Mr. Davis and his party went by railroad to Greensboro', North Carolina. Here Mr. Davis met Gen- erals Johnston and Beauregard. Consultation with these two oiEcers soon revealed to Mr. Davis their convictions of tlie hopelessness of a ferther protraction of the struggle. Ex-Secretary Mallory gives the following narrative of the last official interview of President Davis with Generals John- ston and Beauregard: d by Google DAVia' INTERVIEW WITH JOHNSTON. bZS "At 8 o'clock that evening the eahinet, with the exception of Mr. Trenholm, whose illness prevented hia attondanee, joined the President at his room. It was a small apartment, some twelve by sixteen feet, containing a bed, a few chairs, and a table, with writ- ing materials, on the second floor of the small dwelling of Mrs. John Taylor Wood; and a few minutes after eight the two general entore 1 The a f m hii t of P e lent Dav in cab net meetings, was to CO s me some I ttle t me n general e nver at oa before enter ng pon the bu neas of the o casion not unfre ^uently in- tr He ny some ane 1 t« or ntere t ng ep o le onerally some r n en e ot the rly He ot h m olf other n the army, the Mex an war or h s Wash ngton esper en ea nd h s manner t relatng anl bs appl cat on of them weie at all t mos very hajpy an) pi at ng Few men e z I more readily upon the spr ghtly a pects of any t t' t dthmtltte t dhjw f mmywh h d ddt thw tbl Ui n tl at tm wh th f th Cfl ywhpl wh t 11 w thwgwy th m d fly t th h m wh a t G nm t t pp d f ly 11 p w 11 t h p t t b y d f w d y m d wh th my m p w i 1 ui It t than w d up 11 dt thibthn til 1 bj t f t t t d w th th dt ftb tydd dthmift j\ t d y m t \fte b f t m tl p t t t G IJltoh dah Iqt wywh t „pmtt fb Ih itdy dC ! Beauregard, General Johnston, to Join us this evening, that we might have the benefit of your views upon the situation of the ■country. Of course, we all feel the magnitude of the moment. Our late disasters are terrible, but I do not think we should regard d by Google 624 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. tliem as fatal. I think we can whip the enemy yet, if our people will turn out. We must look at matters calmly, however, aad see what is left for us to do. Whatever can he done must be done at once. We have not a day to lose.' A pause ensued, G-eneral Johnston not seezning to deem himself expected to speak, when the Presideat said : ' We should like to hear your views, General Johnston.' Upon this the General, without prefaae or introduc- tion— his words translating the expression which his face had worn since he entered the room — said, in bis terse, concise, demonstrative way, as if seeking to condense thoughts that were crowding for tttterance ; ' My views are, sir, that our people are tired of the war, feel themselves whipped, and will not fight. Our country is over- run, its military resources greatly diminished, while the enemy's military power and resources were never greater, and may he in- creased to any desired extent. We can not place another large army in the field; and, cut off as we are from foreign intercourse, I do not see how wo could maintain it in fighting condition if we had it. My men are daily deserting in large numhers, and are taking my artillery teams to aid their escape to their homes. Since Lee's defeat they regard the war as at an end. If I march out of North Carolina, her people will all leave my ranks. It will be the same as I proceed south through South Carolina and Greo'rgia, and I shall expect to retain no man heyond the by-road or cow- path that leads to his house. My small force is melting away like snow before the sun, and I am hopeless of recTuitiug it. We may, perhaps, obtain terms which we ought to accept.' "The tone and manner, almost spiteful, in which the General jerked out these brief, decisive sentences, pausing at every para- graph, left no doubt as to his own convictions. When he ceased speaking, whatever was thought of his statements — and their im- portance was fully understood — they elicited neither comment nor inquiry. The President, who, during their delivery, had sat with his eyes fixed upon a scrap of paper which he was folding and re- d by Google DAVIS' IJJTEIiVIEW WITH JOHNSTON. 625 folding abstraotedlj, and wto had listened without a change of position or expression, broke tho silence by saying, in a low, even tone: 'What do you say, Genera! Beauregard?' "'I concur in all General Johnston haa said,' he replied. " Another silence, more eloquent of the full appreciation of the condition of the country than words could have been, succeeded, during which the President's manner was unchanged. "After a brief pause he said, without a variation of tone or ezpression, and without raising his eyes from the slip of paper between his fingers ; ' Well, General Johnston, what do you pro- pose? You speak of obtaining terms. You know, of course, that the enemy refuses to treat with us. How do you propose to ob- tain terms?' " ' I think the opposing Generals in the field may arrange them.' '"Do you think Sherman will treat with you?' '"I have no reason to think otherwise. Such a course would be in accordance with military usage, and legitimate.' " ' We can easily try it, sir. If we cac accomplish any good for the country, Heaven knows I am not particular as to forms. How will you reach Sherman?' '"I would address him a brief note, proposing an interview to arrange terms of Burrender and peace, embracing, of course, a ces- sation of hostilities during tho negotiations.' " ' Well, sir, you can adopt this course, though I confess I am not sanguine as to nltimafe results.' "The member of the cabinet before referred to as conversing with General Johnston, and who was anxious that his views should be promptly carried out, immediately seated himself at the writing- table, and, taking up a pen, offered to act as the General's aman- uensis. At the request of the latter, however, the President dic- tated the letter to General Sherman, which was written at once upon a half sheet of letter folded as note paper, and signed by 40 d by Google 626 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. General JohnstoD, wlio took it, and said he would send it to General Sherman earlj in the morning, and in a few minutes tLe conferenee broke np. This note, which was a brief proposition for a suspension of hostilities, and a conference with a view to agree- ing upon terms of peace, has been published with other lettere which passed between the two Generals. "On or about the 16th of April, the President, his staff, and cabinet left G-reensboro' to proceed still further south, with plans unformed, clinging to the hope that Johnston aad Rhernidn would secure peaee and the quiet of the country, but »itiil all doubtful of the result, and still more doubtful as to consequences of failure " Pending the negotiations between Gcnaah John'-ton and Sherman, Mr. Bavis was earnestly appealed to b> his attend- ants to provide for his own safety, in tiio event of the failure to obtain terms from Sherman. There would have been no difficulty in his escaping either across the Mississippi into Mexico, or from the Florida coast to the West Indies. Ap- parently regardless of his personal safety, he _was reluctant to contemplate leaving the eountr}' under any circumstances. It is certain that he would not have entertained the idea of an abandonment of any organized body of men yet willing to continue in arms for the cause. Accompanied by the members of his cabinet, General Cooper, and other officers, some of whom were in ambulances, and others on horseback, Mr. Davis went from Greensboro' to Lexington. Here he spent the night at the residence of an eminent citizen of North Carolina. Continuing their journey, the party reached Charlotte during the morning of the 18th of April, At this place were extensive establishments of the Confederate Government; and arrangements had already been made for the accommoda- tion of Mr. Davis and his cabinet. During the day of his d by Google MB. DAVIS AT OHAIilXyfTE. 627 arrival at Charlotte, Mr. Davis received a dispatch from Gen- eral Breckinridge — who, in company with Mr. Heagan, Inid returned to Greensboro' to aid the negotiations between John- ston and Sherman — announcing the assassination of President Lincoln. In connection with this event, Mr Mallory writes as fol- lows To a friend who met hira a few minutes ifler he hdd receiYed it and who expressed his mereduhty a'l to its truthfulness, Mr. DjMa rtphed thut true it soundcl 1 ke a canard but in sueh a condition of puhhe affairs ai the country then presented a crime of (hia kind mij,ht he piipitrated Hii frieul remarked that the news was very disastrous for the South foi such an e(ent would suh'.litufe for tie known humiuify and beaevolenoe of Mr Lin- coln a feeJin^ of vmdictivenei" m hi-, successor and in Congress, and th it <»n attempt would d luhthss he made to connect the Gov- ernment or the people of the South with tht dtsd^Hination To this Mr Davis rephed tadly I oeitainly have no special retjard for Mr Lmeiln but there aiL. a gieat many men jf whose end I would much rather hoar than his I fear it will he dioafctrous to our people and I regret it dteply Mr. Davis remained at Charlotte nearly a week. Meanwhile the terms of agreement between Johnston and Sherman were received, and by Mr. Davis submitted to the cabinet. At a meeting of the cabinet, held on the morning after the propo- sitions were received, the written opinions of the various mem- ber were concurrent in favor of the acceptance of the Sher- man-Johnston settlement. Three days afterwards, Mr. Davis ■was informed by General Johnston of the rgeetion, by the Federal Government, of the proposed settlement, and that he eould obtain no other terms than those accorded by General d by Google b^o " LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. Grant to General Lee. The surrender of General Jolmstor! was, of course, conclusive of the Confederate cause east of the Mississippi. Whatever Mr. Davis' hopes might have been previous to that event, and whatever his determination htxd been in case of disapproval by the Federal Government of Sherman's course (a contingency wJiich he anticipated), it was plain that Johnston's surrender made resistance to the Federal Government east of the Mississippi impracticable. Fully recognizing this fiict, Mr. Davis was yet far from con- templating surrender at discretion. His hope now was to cross the Mississippi, carrying with him such bodies of troops as were willing to accompany him; these, added to the force of Kirby Smith, would make an army respectable in numbers, and occupying a country of abundant supplies. In the Trans- Mississippi region Mr. Davis would have continued the struggle, in the hope of obtaining more acceptable terms than had yet been offered. In this expectation he was greatly strengthened by the spirit of resistance indicated by bodies of men who had refused to lay down their arms with the surrendered armies of Lee and Johnston. We again quote from the account of Mr. Mallory : "No other course now seemed open to Mr. Davis but to leaye the country, and his immediate advisers urged him to do so with the utmost promptitude. Troops began to come into Charlotte, however, escaping from Johnston's surrender, and there was much talk amongst them of crossing the lUississippi, and continuing the war. Portions of Hampton's, Dehrell's, Dake's, and Ferguson's commands of cavalry were hourly coming in. They seemed dej termined tn get across the river, and fight it out; and, wherever they eDcountoreii Mr. Davis, they oheerod, and sought to encour- age liim. It was evident thiit he was greatly affected by the con- d by Google lCcount. 629 staney and spirit of these men, and that, rogardless of his owa safety, his thoughts dwelt upon the possibility of gathering to- gether a body of troops to make head against the foe and to arouse the people to arms. "His friends, however, saw the urgent expediency of getting further south as rapidly as possible, and, after a week's stay at Charlotte, they left, with an escort of some two or three hundred cavalry, and, two days afterwards, reached Yorkville, South Caro- lina traveling slowly and not at all like men esc-iping from the country In purauiiij, this r uto the pirty met ne i the Catawba River, -a gentlem n who e plantatija and home tead la\ about half a mile from its btnks and who had tome out to meet Mr Davis, and to offer him the hospitality of his house His dwelling beautifully situated and surrounded by ornate and cultivated giouuds was reached about 4 o cl ck P. M., and the churning lady of the mansion with that earnest sympathy and geneious kindness which Mr Davis m miafoitane never failed to receive fiora Southe i wonen soon m dc e^ i\ nan of the party foiget his cares and feel tur a time df lea t er all the ills of life vietOTJou" "At Yorkville, Colonel Preston and other gentlemen had arranged for the aceommodation of Mr. Davis and his party at private houses, and here they remained one night and part of the next day. "A small cavalry escort scouted extensively, and kept Mr. Davis advised of the positions of the enemy's forces — to avoid which was a matter of some difficulty. With this view, the party from York- ville rode over to a point below Clinton, on the Lawreaceville and Columbus Railroad, and thence struck off to Cokesboro', oa the Greenville Railroad. " Here the party received the kindest attention at private houses. On the evening of his arrival, Mr. Davis received news by a soout d by Google 630 LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. tliat the enemy's cavalry, in considerable force, was but ten miles off, and that he was pressing stock upon all sides; and it was deemed advisable to make but a brief stay. "At 2 o'clock in tbc morning Mr. Davis was aroused by another scout, who declared that be had left tbe enemy only ten miles off, and that they would be ia the town in two or three hours. This intelligence infused energy throughout the little party. It was composed of men, however, familiar with real, no less than with rumored perils; men who had faced danger in too many forms to be readily started from their propriety ; and preparations were very deliberately made with suoh force as could be mustered to pay due honor to bis enterprise. " Several hours elapsed without further intelligence of the enemy's movements, and at half-past six in the morning the party rode out of Cokesboro' toward Abbeville, expecting an encounter at any moment, but Abbeville was reached without seeing an enemy. "At Abbeville the fragments of disorganized cavalry commands, which had thus far performed, in some respects, an escort's duty, were found to be reduced to a handful of men anxious only to reach their homes as early as practicable, and whose services could not further be relied on. They had not surrendered nor given a parole, but they regarded the struggle as terminated, and themselves re- lieved from further duty to their o£E.eers or the Confederate States, and, with a few exceptions, determined to flght do more. They rode in couples or in small squads through the country, occasion- ally 'impressing' mules and horses, or exchanging their wretched beasts for others in better condition ; and, outside of a deep and universal regret for the failure of their cause, usually expressed by the remark that 'The old Confederacy has gone up,' they were as gleeful and careless as boys released from school. Almost every cross-road witnessed the separation of comrades in arms, who had long shared the perils and privations of a terrific struggle, now seeking their several homes to resume their duties as peaceful citi- d by Google MK. MALLOEY'S account. 631 zens. Endeared to each other by their aideut love for a common cause— a cause which they deemed uoquostionahij right and just, and which, surrendered not to convictions of error, hut to the logic of arms, was still as true and just as ever— their words of parting, few and brief, were words of warm, fraternal affection pledges of endless regard, and mutual promises to meet a^ain " From information gained here, it was evident that his cavalry was making a demonstration; but whether to capture Mi Davis, or simply to expedite his departure from the country coul 1 not be determined. The country, or at least those familiar with military movements at this period, have doubtless long since satisfied them- selves upon this point. "To suppose that Mr. Davis and his staff, embracing some eight or ten gentlemen, all superbly mounted, and with led horses, could ride from Charlotte, N. C, to Washington, Ga., by daylight, over the highroads of the country, their coming heralded miles in ad- vance by returning Confederate soldiers, without the cognizance and consent of the Federal commanders, whose cavalry covered the country, would be to detract from all that was known of their activity and vigilance. " Political considerations, adequate to account for this unmolested progress, may readily be imagined. Whether they influenced it is only known to those who had the direction of public aflairs at the time. But he this as it may, Mr. Davis' progress could not well have been more public and conspicuous. " Mr. Davis, who was more generally known by the soldiers than any other man in the Confederacy, was never passed by them with- out a cheer, or some warm or kindly recognition or mark of respect. The fallen chief of a cause for which they had risked their lives and fortunes, and lost every thing but honor, his presence never failed to command their respect, and to add a tone of sympathy and sadness to the expression of their good wishes for his future. They knew not his plans for the future, nor could they conjecture what d by Google 632 LU'"K OF J£1.'I--KKS0N DAVIS, faM miekt have in store for him; but their hearts were with him, go where he might. " Bronzed and weather-beaten veterans, who, when other hearts were sore afraid, still hoped on and fought 'while gleamed the sword of noble Bohert Lee,' grasped his hand, without the power of giviog voice to thought, which their tear-glistening ojes revealed. Of such men wore the gre.at ma.ses of the Confederate armies com- posed. Firm and infleiible in their convictions of right, and yield- ing not Iheir convietion., but their armed maintenance of Ihem only, to the .torn arbitrament of war, the, may be relied upon to observe with inviolable faith every pledge and duty to the United States, assumed or implied, by their eubmission or parole. "At Abbeville Mr. Davis was again urged by his friends to leave the country, either from the southern shores of Florida or by etossiog the Mississippi and going to Meiico through Toias; but though ho listened quietly to .11 they had to say upon the subject, and seemed to .c,nie.ce in their views, he never eiprcssed a decided willingness or readiness to do so. '■ To some of his friends it w.s apparent that his capture was not speciallj sought by the military authorities, and th.t he had bat to change his dross and his horse, .nd to travel with a single friend, to pa.s unrecognised .nd in safety to the sca-.hore, and there embark. Hitherlo, a. has been already „id, his coming along his selected route w.s known to the people .nile, in advance. Sohool, were dismissed that the children might, upon the road-side, greet him Ladies, with fruit, and lowers, presented with tears of sym- pathy, were seen at the gates of every homestead, far in advance, awaiting his approach; and it was h.rdly luppos.hlo that the gen- eral in command, whose spies, and scouts, and cavalry coveted the country, and were he.rd of upon ,11 sides, was the ':nly person uninformed of Mr. Davis' movements. " The assertion that General Sherman, aware of this journey, permitted it to facilitate the departure of Mr. Davis and his frioudi rdb, Google MR. mallory's account. 633 from tlie eountrj, is not made or designed ; for it is possible tbat his capture was desired and attempt«d; but tlie facta are matters of history, and are given regardless of the speculations which they may justify. " The party loft Abbeville at 11 o'clock the same night for Wash- ington, Georgia, a distance of some forty-five miles, and by riding briskly they reached the Savannah River at daylight, crossing it upon a pontoon bridge, and rode into Washington at about 10 o'clock A. JI. Just before leaving Abbeville they learned that a body of Federal cavalry was en route to destroy this bridge, and might reach it before thorn, and hence they pushed on vigorously, meeting no enemy, but delayed about an hour by mistaking the right road. " The night was intensely dark, the weather stormy. In approach- ing the bridge through the river swamp the guide and Colonel Preston Johnston, and another of the party, rode a half mile in advance, and the latter encountered a mounted Federal officer, ■fhe rays of blazing lightwood within a wood-cutter's small cabin fell upon him as he stood motionless beneath a tree, and revealed his water-proof riding-coat and the gold band upon his cap. He hurriedly inquired, as he listened to the tramp of the coming horsemen ; '"What troops are these?' '""What force is this?' '"Is this Jeff. Davis' party?' " ' Yes,' replied the party addressed, while revolving in his mind the best course to pursue, 'this Is Jeff. Davis' escort of five thou- "The officer vanished in the darkness, and no others were en- countered "At Washington it was found thtt squais of Federal cavalry scouts were theie A lew were in the town it the time, and Mr. Davis was a^un urged to conoult his satety His family and serv- d by Google 634 LIFE OF JEFFERSON BAVI9. anfs w th a small train of ambulances accompiuied by hii private Seuetarj Mi Buiton Ham on had pjsiel tbro igb \\ a^hinEfton twenty fjur htuis before and the enemy then only aoine twenty n les distant and Mi Dav s aseeriained that he mi^ht readily oveitake them and before idoptic^, ai y plan to leave the country he desiri,d to «ee and cc nfer with them On the following morning with his j arty r mewhit re la el in numbers he left y\ oshington and joined hia tamily The circumstance ol the capture of Mr Davis as given offi eially by G-eneral Wihon were in harmony with that system of misrepresentation by wh eh the pcpul r mini wa'* peiveited -if, to all he said and dii and designed Hia alleged attempt to escape disguise 1 in female app rel — ^a niked fiction — seived well enough for the m ment t) grat fy and amuse tl e popular mind Barnum the liommart t iie to his p o liitj f r piactical falsehood pre sented to the i.yo^ of Bioadway a g apt c life size lopreseutation of Mr Diyi tills habited resisting arrest by Pede al soldiers and many thoisands of childien vliose wondering eyes beheld it will grow to matur ty an 1 pi^^ into the grivo ret in ng the ideas thus created as the tiuth of histxy Foitunately however his tory rarely leaves her ver ficit on wh lly to the te timony cf envy hatred, malice, or falsehood, but contrives, in her own time and method, ways and means to bring truth to her exposition. " It has been seen that before the President's proclamation con- necting him with the assassination, with every desired opportunity, and with every means of escape from the country at his command, Mr. Davis refrained from leaving it; and it is very doubtful whether, in face of the charge of complicity with this great crime, any power on earth could have induced him to leave. "The sentiment to which the noble Clement Clay, of Alabama, gave utterance, upon learning that he was charged as particeps ci-iminis in the assassination doubtless actuated Mr. Davis. Clay was able to escape from the country, and was prepared to do so; d by Google ME. mai-.i.oey's account. 635 but when his heroic and loveaWe wife made iinown to him this chafe, with indignation and scorn at its baae falsehood breathing in evei-y tone, he rose quietlj, and said : ' Well, mj dear wife, that puts an end to all my plans of leaving the conntry. I must meet this calumny at once, and will go to Atlanta and surrender myself and demand its investigation.' " Had Mr. Da 1 h j f 1 1 d d m 1 gn y w uld haYO multiplied dp fhlfchgg ha and the shortcom d P ' 1 h w Id have been coav ly b d 1 1 h h d heart. But his 1 i y h 1 m n h p passive heroism with which, when powerless otherwise, and strong oulv in honor and integrity, he met his fate, have combined, not only to sea! the lips of those of his Confederate associates who had wrongs, real or fancied, to resent, but to concentrate upon him the heartfelt sympathy of the Southern people, and no little interest and sympathy wherever heroic endurance of misfortune gains consideration among men. " His escape from the country and a secure refuge in a foreign land, sustained by the respect and affection of the Southern peo- ple, were within his own control ; and he might have reasonably looked forward to a return to his native State, as a result of a change in her political status, at no distant day. But ho refrained from embracing the opportunities of escape which were his by for- tune or by Federal permission. " The suggestions of friends as to his personal safety were heard with all due consideration, and he manifested none of the airs of a would-be political martyr ; and yet it was evident that captivity and death had lost with him their terrors in comparison with the crushing calamity of a defeat of a cause for whose triumph he had been ever ready to lay down his life. " The general language and bearing of the people of the country through which he passed, their ardent loyalty to the South, their d by Google 636 LIFE OF JEFFEE90N DAVIS. profound sorrow at the failure of her cause, and tlieir warm ex- pressions of regard for himself — -all confirmatory of the conviction that, notwithstanding the odda against her, a thorough and hearty union of the people and leaders would have secured her triumph, affected him deeply. " Throughout his journey lie greatly enjoyed the exercise of rid- ing and the open air, and decidedly preferred the hivouac to the bed-room ; and at such times, reclining against a tree, or stretched upon a blanket, with his head, pillowed upon his saddle, and under the inspiration of a good cigar, he talked very pleasantly of stir- ring scenes of other days, and forgot, for a time, the engrossing anxieties of the situation." The Bolicitiide of Mr. Davis for the safety of his family led to Iiis capture. Several weelis had elapsed since he had parted with them, and almt^t the first positive information that he received, made him apprehensive for tlieir safety. In the then disorganized condition of the country through which he was passing, the inducements to violence and robbery by des- perate characters were numerous. Hearing that the route which Mrs. Davis was pursuing was infested by marauders, he determiued to see that his family was out of danger, before putting mto execution his design of crossing the Mississippi, While with his family, Mr. Davis was surprised by a body of Federal cavalry, and at the time being unarmed and unat- tended by any foree competent for resistance, he was made a prisoner. On the 19tli May, 1865, lie was placed ia solitary confinement at Fortress Monroe. d by Google MOTIVE OF MR. BA'S'IS AERKST, CHAPTER XXII. V lUrAMOia HARiBS ABAINST HIM ' WITH BXOCPTIONAL CRUBLTl — THE OUTKAGBS HIK HIS PATIENT AND HtKOIO 5K0M FORTKESa MONROE— miLED JOT OF THE OOMMUNlTi IN CANAl COURT HIS TRIAL AUAIN P' ALL doubt hts long <^ince been dispelled as to the motive of the pm?uit and irrest of Mr. Davis- His arrest and imprisonment neie the iftei thought of the saturnine Sgci'g- tary of War, and his a.ssocnte inquisitors of the Bureau of Military Justice, at "Wi^hington. The details given by Mr, MaUory, of the cireurastintes of Mr. Davis' progress through North Cirolina, South Carolim, and a part of Geoi^ia, added to facta which ire yet fresh m the public memory, fully justify the conclusion thit the Federal authorities connived at his supposed purpose to escape the country. The reputation of Mr, Lincoln iniong his countrymen, for humanity as well as good sense, render-* it extremely probable that such would have been his method of ivoidmg the perplexity which must arise from the capture of Mr Da-vi-- Well undeistindmg thit the inflamed public sentiment of the Noith, le^uding Mi Di\ls as a political oifender of the d by Google 638 LIFE OP JBFFERSOS DAVIS. ■worst possible character, would not tolerate his immediate re- lease, the Federal Government would have served the ends of humanity and sound policy by encouraging his escape. On the other band the laws of the United States tolerate pro- longed imprisonment only after trial and sentence. Hence the arrest of Mr. Davis must open an endless perspective of embarrassments. He could not be tried simply as an indi- vidual, nor could bis punishment for any alleged crime of his own, be the sole object to be sought. His arraignment before a judicial tribunal, would be the arraignment of the principle of State Sovereignty, of the States which had sought to put that principle in practice, of the five millions of American citizens who had supported it, and who had cheerfully risked their lives and earthly possessions 'for its maintenance. Nay, more, the trial of Jefferson Davis, upon a charge of treason, meant the trial of the North also. Should all efforts to convict the South in the person of Mr. Davis, of treason, fail, the recoil might well be dreaded by those who instigated the war upon the rights and existence of the States. It was not to be safely assumed that the legal decision of a eonstitu- tiona! question, which divided the framers of the Federal Con- stitution, woLsld necessarily aflirm the party and sectional dog- mas upon which the North waged the war. Should secession be legally justified, what justification could the North claim, that is rightfully denied to Russia in her conduct towards Poland? What plea should England need for her outrages upon Ireland? With Jefferson Davis acquitted of treason, what could the conduct of the North for four years have been,.' but a revelry in blood — the wanton perpetration of a monstrous crime? In this dilemma the industry of the Bureau of Military d by Google CALUMNIES. 639 Justice, which afterwards achieved an immortality of infamy, by its record of judicial murders, aided by the ingenuity of Stanton, devised a scheme for the arrest of Mr. Davis, upon charges designed to cover hira and the cause which he repre- sented, with everlasting obloquy. Not content with having triumphed by superior numbers, in a war of political opinions, which in the beginning was declared not to be waged for social or political subversion; not content with having settled a grave constitutional question, by brute force, in a government founded upon the idea of popular consent, the Federal author- ities were now made a party to infamous felsehoods, the cir- cumstances and results of which have fixenl a stigma upon the Ameriean name. Contemporary witli the announcement of events, which pro- claimed the irretrievable downfall of the Confederacy, were the calumnies of the Northern press, under the alleged inspi- ration of Stanton, representing that Mr, Davis was escaping with wagons filled with plunder, and with the gold of the Richmond banks; and that he had endeavored to escape in the concealment of female apparel. No one knew better than those who promulgated this paltry defamation, its utter fiilsity, and we would not insult Mr. Davis and the Soiithern people by bestowing consideration upon such palpable calumnies. It was not calculated that such a portraiture of one, whose per- sonal honor, courage, and manhood had triumphantly endured every test, would be accepted by the intelligence even of the North. But it nevertheless had an obvious purpose, which was well answered. It imposed upon the weak and credulous. The besotted and cowardly mobs of the Northern cities, wlio filled the air with clamor for the "blood of traitors," while the men who had amquored the South, were touched with sym- d by Google 640 I,IFE OF JEFFKRSON 1>AVIS, pathy for the misfortunes of foes whom tliey respected, of course eagerly accepted any caricature of Mr. Davis agreeable to their own vulgar imaginations. In tliis manner was con- summated the first step in the object of delaying the feeling of personal respect, and of sympathy for misfortunes, which eventually assert themselves in the masses, for a feUen foe, whom it was already resolved to persecute with oppression and cruelty previously unknown under the American political system. Next came the atrocious proclamation charging Mr. Davis with complicity in the assassination of President Lincoln. It is safe to say that incidents hitherto prominent by their in- famy, will be forgotten by history, in comparison with the dastardly criminal intent which instigated that document. Circumstances warrant the belief that not one of the conspir- ators against the life and honor of Mr. Davis, believed either then or now, that the charge had one atom of truth. Had the charge been honestly made, it would have been disavowed, when its falsity became apparent. But this would not have subserved the end of the conspirators, and the poison was per- mitted to circulate and rankle, long after the calumny had been exploded during the investigations of the military com- mission, in the cases of Mrs, Surratt and Captain Wirz. At length justice was vindicated by the publication of the con- iidential correspondence between Holt and Oonover, which dis- closed the unparalleled subornation and peijury upon which the conspirators relied. Well has it been said that the world will yet wonder " how it was that a people, passing for civil- ized and Christian, should have consigned Jefferson Davis to a cell, while they tolerated Edwin M, Stanton as a Cabinet Minister." d by Google MK. DAVIS' ANTECEDENTS. 641 We have no desire to dwell upon the details of Mr. Davis' long and cruel imprisonment. The story is one over which the South has wept tears of agony, at whose recital the civil- ized world revolted, and which, in years to come, will mantle with shame the cheek of every American eitizen who values the good name of his country. In a time of profound peace, when the last vestige of resistance to Federal authority had disappeared in the Soutli, Mr, Davis, wrecked in fortune and in health, in violation of every fundamental principle of Amer- ican liberty, of justice and humanity, was detained for two years, without trial, in close confinement, and, during a large portion of this period, treated with all the rigor of a sentenced convict. But if indeed Mr. Davis was thus to be prejudged as the "traitor" and "conspirator" which the Stantons, and Holts, and Forneys declared him to be, why should he be selected from the raillions of his advisers and followers, voluntary par- ticipants in his assumed " treason," as the single victim of cru- elty, outrage, and indignity? What is there in his antecedents inconsistent with the character of a patriotic statesman devoted to the promotion of union, fraternity, harmony, and faithful allegiance to the Constitution and laws of his country? We have endeavored faithfully to trace his distinguished career as a statesman and soldier, and at no stage of his life is there to be found, either in his conduct or declared opinions, the evi- dence of infidelity to the Union as its character and objects were revealed to his understanding. Nor is there to be found in his personal character any support of that moral turpitude which a thousand oracles of falsehood have declared to have peculiarly characterized his commission of "treason." Ko tongue and pen were more eloquent than his in describ- d by Google 642 LIFE OP JEFFERSON DAVIS. ing the grandeur, glory, and blessings of the Union, and in invoking for its perpetuation the aspirations and prayers of hia fellow-citizens. In the midst of passion and tumult, in 1861, he was conspicuous by his zeal for compromise, and for a pacific solution of difficulties. No Southern Senator abandoned his seat with so pathetie and regretful an announce- ment of the necessity which cwmpelled the step. The sorrow- ful tone of his valedictory moistened the eye of every listener, and convinced even political adversaries of the sincerity and purity of his motives. His elevation to the Presidency of the Confederacy was not dictated by the recognition of any sup- posed title to leadership in the secession movement. His elec- tion was indeed a triumph over the extreme sentiment of the South, and was declared by those who opposed it to involve a compromise of the exclusive sectionalism which was the basis of the new government. His administration of the Confederate Government exhibited the same unswerving loy- alty to duty, to justice and humanity, which his previous life so nobly exemplified. The people of the South alone know how steadfe,stly he opposed the indulgence of vengeance; how he strove, until the last moments of the struggle, to restrain the rancor and bitterness so naturally engendered under the circumstances. Yet, when Jefferson Davis lay a helpless pris- oner in the strongest fortress of the Union, with " broad patches of skin abraded" by the irons upon his limbs, men were prac- tically pardoned who had devoted years of labor to the pur- pose .of disunion, and had reproached him for not unfurling the " black flag." Is not the inference, then, justified that all of these tortures and indignities were aimed at the people aild the cause which his dignity, purity, and genius had so exalted in the eyes of mankind? d by Google EBLBASB, 643 But how impotent are falsehood and malignity to obstruct the illumination of truth ! As subornation and perjury proved unavailing to convict him of atrocious guilt, ao equally has persecution failed to accomplish its purpose. To all that shame- ful picture of barbarous violence and gratuitous insult ; of in- solent espionage and vulgar curiosity ; of the illustrious leader of a brave people, whose whole life does not exhibit one act of meanness or shame, or one word of untruth, crushed by dis- aster, and prostrate with disease, fettered as if he were a des- perate felon ; restricted in his diet, and not even permitted a change of linen, except by tlie authority of a military jailer; an object of unrelaxed scrutiny, often driven to his cell by the peering curiosity of vulgar men and unsexed women— to all this there was but one relief — the patient and con.stant heroism of the sufferer, giving heart to his despairing countrymen, and ennobling his own captivity. History furnishes no similar instance of patient and dignified endurance of adversity and persecution. The incidents of Mr. Davis' history since his release from Fortress Monroe, do not require detailed narration. For the most part they are confined to that domain of privacy which decency holds to be inviolable. When two years — ^wanting a few days — from the date of his incarceration had elapsed, Mr. Davis was transferred by the military authorities to the cus- tody of the Federal civil authorities at Richmond. Hero, amid the congratulations of friends, and the rejoicings of the community, which loves him as it loves but one other — his constant friend and compeer in fame — he was released from custody under circumstances which are well known. The in- terval between his release in May, 1867, and his re-appear- ance before the Fedei-al court, at Richmond, in the ensuing d by Google b** LIFE OF JEPFEESON DAVIS. November, was passed by Mr. Davis in Canada. There he waa the recipient of the respect and sympathy which his charac- ter and his sufferings might have been expected to elicit from a humane people. At the November term of the Federal court, Mr. Davis waa again present, with his eminent counsel, await- ing trial, and was again released upon recognizance to appear on the 25th March, 1868. In the face of the close proximity of the event, it would be unprofitable to speculate as to the sequel of this third appear- ance of Jefferson Davis before a judicial tribunal, to answer the charge of treason. Nor do we propose to add to the brief consideration, which has already been given in this volume, of the legal and historical question involved in the case of Mr. Davis. The subject has been exhausted. The masterly expositions by Mr. Davis of the theory of the Federal Govern- ment (some of which we have given), are at once the complete vindications of himself and his countrymen, and the sufBcient monuments of his fame. But are the issues of the war to be subjected to candid and impartial I^al adjudication? Will the North approve tliis raising of a doubt as to its own justification, merely in the hope of vengeance upon one who is powerless for injury ? But if there is to be admitted another jurisdiction thin thit of "War, if theirlitriment cf battle is to be cirned to the high ei tubunal of Liw and Public Opinion it there is t be a trial ind not d judicial fiirce with i foregone conclusion an 1 a prejudged sentence the South and its hte lender will not shrink from the verdict Of this the woild requires no moie emphitic iteiation than that furniished by pist c\ents But the decision of this que tion ■white\er it raiy be can not ieco\t,i the Migei which the l?outh ariHantlj '■tiL.ed inl d by Google coscLUSiox. 645 irretrievably lost. Time will show, however, the amount of truth in the prophecy of Jefferson Davis, made in reply to the remark that the cause of the Confederacy was lost : "It ap- pears so. But the priimpU for which we contended is bound to rerossert iiself, though it vaay be at a/nother time and in anr other form," d by Google rdb, Google rdb, Google rdb, Google rdb, Google rdb, Google